Strong World
by TangSan98
Summary: Evil converges from all directions. Many plots are made against Konoha and the Elemental Nations, both internal and external. In an already tumultuous world an ancient race re-emerges from the ruins of the past. As Konoha defends against these threats a little boy with a mysterious past sets out into the vast Elemental Nations to search for one thing. Family.
1. Chapter 1 - A talentless boy?

**A/N: Hello everyone, and welcome to Strong World. I am not a newbie to the Naruto Fanfiction website, having read hundreds of them. So now I decided to have a go at it myself. I'm taking everything I've learnt from reading the fanfics on this site and turning it into my own, original story.**

 **N.B: I have made minor changes to remove some grammatical errors, in case any who have read this before are confused by the changes.**

 **As a fellow reader I know people always have questions and expectations, I'm going to try to answer them all here**

 **FYI:**

 **How often will I update? Hopefully once every week. They are longer chapters though.**

 **Pairings? You'll just have to read to find out! What I can say is that I'm going for originality here. It will be a bit later on in the story though. (But in my story the romantic subplot plays a huge role in the overall plot).**

 **How powerful will Naruto be? Eventually strong, but not OP. He'll have a wide skill set that grows over time.**

 **Villains. I don't want to spoil it, but I have pretty much planned out all the enemies. I also know how the story will end.**

 **World building and changes from canon – It might shock you at first but I have made a few changes. The most glaring one you might not like, but I just want to say that I have a very good reason for every change I've made.**

 **How long? It should be above the 100,000 word mark.**

 **Just as a final reminder, my story starts off as slow and mysterious. The first 5 chapters I plan out to be quite small in scale. They are there to set the scene. After that the 6** **th** **chapter will truly reveal parts of the great world. There are many things I won't explain until much later, so hang on with questions!**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, only the adaptations made on the original canon in this story.**

 _Lands that wish to reach the heavens but fall ever so short. These mountains are truly a fitting place for my people._ A tall man in a dark cloak lamented.

In a large courtyard there sat hundreds of people. Civilian men, women and children ate rations from their disorganised and messy bags. Even their cloths were filthy, with a rotten stench emanating from the general populace. As for the uniformed ninja, their cloths were tattered and some still bleeding. Many of them had an arm or leg missing, and some corpses were being burned in front of their grieving families.

At the centre of the courtyard was a raised platform where 3 men and a woman stood. A chakra sensor would be unable to sense their chakra. In fact they looked like ordinary people. But surprisingly the villagers showed them tremendous respect.

"This world has grown too bold in its rush for power. They have a lot of guts, to have dared to turn on us." His voice, loud and domineering, swept through the courtyard. Everyone fell silent, listening to him quietly. Even the children had stopped shouting and screaming.

"But it is our fault too, for us to have grown so complacent during peacetime." Many of the ninja in the courtyard lowered their heads in shame, some crying in anguish. It was truly a pitiable sight.

The man in the centre stood up from his seat and looked around the courtyard. At least 50% were dead. Half his people! And it wasn't just limited to shinobi, there were innocent civilians caught in the crossfire! They still had some hidden cards left to play, but this should never have happened in the first place! He clenched his fists, but after a few moments they were slowly relaxed. _No point worrying about this now, I need to ensure our safety and prepare for the future._

He cleared his throat, regaining everyone's attention. "This is not the end my brethren, we must carve this loss and humiliation into our hearts and live on! Live on for our ancestors, our children and our legacy. We cannot falter in the face of hardship. We may have lost our land but we haven't lost our heritage, our skills or our knowledge." He paused, before continuing, "I know that you have lost a great deal, I have too. In fact my father's condition is currently unknown, as is his location. Even worse is losing our homeland. However remember this: The most important thing for a civilisation isn't their land, but their people! We will rebuild our home, creating an even stronger village where we can protect our own! We will once again rise to the top!"

The more he spoke, the louder his voice rang across the grounds. When he saw his people pay attention and cheer he inwardly sighed in relief. As the leader it was his duty not just to ensure his citizens' safety, but to make sure their wills remained strong. He could tell his words lighted a spark of hope into their hearts.

"And...", he clenched his fist with a dark glint in his eyes, "once we have re-built our empire the 9 great masters shall rise once again, leading us to destroy all those that acted against us! We will avenge this loss!"

No one questioned him. He was their leader and protector. A resounding cheer swept across the courtyard as the man finally managed to smile. The 3 people around him also clenched their fists in agitation; clearly they too were infected by this optimism.

"Onwards to the mountains my brethren. I, Blood Calamity, will lead you to build a new home, a new paradise!"

And so they vanished. Many people would try to find their last traces, but fail. Some thought they died, others not so sure. However the Elemental Nations did agree on one thing; the glorious reputation that this people built had fallen into ruin.

No-one knew that deep in a secluded mountain range there still existed _that_ clan, who possessed centuries of glory, knowledge and power, having protected the world many times over. Their strength would grow unnoticed within the mountains, preparing to one day re-emerge into the Great Elemental Nations!

 **100 years later**

(Location: Konohagakure)

It was a rainy day which was rare for the land of fire, especially during the summer. A sprawling metropolis sat below a grand set of rock faces, 4 of them. As a village victorious in 3 great wars it was safe to say Konoha was a superpower, even amongst the 5 great villages. It was also an economic powerhouse, with lots of business taking place on a daily basis.

Near the centre of the village was a tall red tower, which had the symbol, Fire, emblazoned on it proudly. And at the very top was an office, inside of which sat a middle aged man. Nothing about him was ordinary, from his cloths to his very presence. For a few minutes he persisted in signing documents and reading confidential reports, but soon he sighed and leaned back.

"How long are you going to stand there, Jiraiya-sensei?"

A man appeared in front of the desk out of thin air. He was tall with white hair and red face markings, with a large scroll strapped to his back.

"Now I can't even hide from you, and I'm supposed to be the spymaster. Have your sensory capabilities advanced so far?" Although it was a light-hearted tone, he was clearly awed and slightly displeased about being noticed so quickly.

"The young surpass the old my dear sensei, and you're definitely reaching old age. " He grinned, and started laughing when his sensei flipped him off in response. "You need to visit me when I'm at home sensei, why don't you stay in Konoha for a while? Kushina and Wulin would be excited to see you again!"

He looked expectantly at Jiraiya, who frowned in response. "Can't this time Minato, a storm's brewing. And it isn't going to be pretty if it heads in our direction."

Minato paused for a second, before becoming quite serious. "It has to be bad for you to come personally, what happened?"

Jiraiya paused for a minute, perhaps due to hesitation or misgivings, before replying; "There are a few new organisations that have been set up in recent years Minato, and I didn't take them seriously at first. But recently I realised that their operations have been discretely set up against Konoha."

"Is it Iwa or Kiri? Or even... Kumo? We did sign the peace treaty 4 years ago, so I don't think Kumo would do anything. As for Suna, they won't even dare to do anything." Minato pondered, clearly in deep thought, before looking expectantly at Jiraiya.

Once again Jiraiya hesitated, "I'm afraid it is none of the villages, its worse. The name of one of these organisations is... Akatsuki."

(Location: Eastern Konoha Residential District)

BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP. An alarm clock rang incessantly before a hand clamped down, restoring peace and tranquility. "Ahhhhhhhhh" A boy yawned as he threw off the covers and got up from bed, rubbing his eyes.

He was quite scrawny in general and looked lethargic this morning, but his vibrant violet eyes indicated otherwise. They scanned the room incessantly before falling on the calendar opposite him, on which there was a big red line underlining 'Graduation – Time to become a ninja!'

Suddenly all sense of lethargy disappeared, "YESSSS" he shouted before running around the small run-down apartment picking up cloths and getting ready. He had to avoid the used cups of instant ramen noodles, which had expired way before he ate them. The water in the shower was as cold as ice, and the room's temperature was the same as the outside. None of this bothered the boy as he hurriedly freshened up.

5 minutes later he walked out of his apartment to see a street full of filth and garbage. A few homeless people sat begging for money or still sleeping. Asides from them the street was empty. It was early in the morning after all. Needless to say he lived in a poor residential district, and as the young boy walked towards the academy the slums disappeared, replaced by shops and restaurants. They ranged from simple cloths shops to ninja weapons shops, although not just anyone could enter the shinobi shops. The houses and streets were cleaner and much more high-end, with people wearing high quality cloths and some women wore gaudy jewellery. None of the changes bothered the boy, who looked on emotionlessly and continued walking.

Finally the boy reached the Ninja academy; he tightened the headband around his shoulder, adjusting his hair a bit. Wearing black shorts and a plain green shirt, it contrasted quite heavily with his blood red hair. He closed his eyes and counted to 10 before entering.

His jaw dropped when he saw that _everyone_ was already here! Given Iruka-sensei's instruction it shouldn't have been surprising, but noticing he was last among his peers was shocking. Looking around he noticed the people who he had been together with for 6 years.

Choji Akimichi and Shikamaru Nara sat together, with the former eating chips and the latter napping. That's what he loved about them, their consistency. Over the last 6 years every morning, or at least most of them, he'd find those two doing the same thing. _A fatso and a guy who sleeps more than a Koala._

Shino Aburame sat alone at the back, holding up his hand and talking to an insect on his finger. _Weirdo._ A few seats across him sat another quiet boy. He looked completely unremarkable, with brown hair and average height. But it was universally accepted that he was one of the most talented people in the class. Even Iruka, as impartial as he was, raved on and on about Ryoga and his talent. _Asshole_

Before the boy could finish taking in the sight he was roughly shoved out of the entrance by 2 girls who had just entered the classroom behind him. They were also pushing each other, clearly having a race of some kind.

"Ha, I'm first Ino-pig! I get to sit next to Wulin!" The girl with long pink hair shouted, who had hands on hips and looked very pleased with herself.

"For God's sake Sakura, why do you like him so much, Sasuke's way better! And I was first, I'm just being kind to you by letting you dream." Like a twin she also had her hands on her hips, a condescending attitude shown.

"Hey you can't just shove people out of the way, that's rude! Show some respect for your classmates." The young boy growled out, incensed by being manhandled.

The 2 girls looked at him blankly, and then laughed in response. "Naruto? I'm surprised a loser like you even graduated. Even Shikamaru did better than you and he slept for like half the exam." Ino spoke ruthlessly, yet this was quite a normal event during the past few years. She looked like she was going to continue when someone shouted.

"SILENCE, AND TAKE YOUR SEATS EVERYONE". Naruto glared at the 2 girls before sitting at the back next to Shino.

A young man stood at the front of the table, Naruto recognised him as their sensei, Iruka. He had a reputation of being exceedingly stern and fair amongst the students of all classes. _Except for his pet Ryoga of course,_ thought Naruto.

"I am very proud of all of you for graduating and starting your journey as shinobi, and hopefully you will be even more careful and hardworking. The life of a shinobi is difficult and can be full of blood and tears. What is even more important is to stay true to your team and sensei. After all, they will be like your family. Perhaps for the rest of your life." Iruka paused and looked around the room sternly. He then picked up the clipboard and cleared his throat.

"Now the team placements: Team 7 consists of Sasuke Uchiha, Wulin Namikaze and Yakumo Kurama. Your sensei is Kakashi Hatake."

The class immediately erupted into chaos, what kind of team was this? They were the strongest 3 people in the entire class! Yakumo was the top kunoichi, exceedingly talented at all aspects especially genjutsu. She was from the vaunted Kurama clan, the clan of illusionists. Rumour was that she could already do a B rank genjutsu. _She's also really really pretty._ There was no need to even talk about Sasuke. _Typical arrogant Uchiha genius_. As for Wulin, he was the Hokage's son! He got personal training from his father, the Hokage, and his mother, an Elite Jounin. In fact, Jiraiya of the Sannin had personally gifted Wulin the toad summoning contract on his 11th birthday. _Talk about a golden spoon._

 _If I got even half the help they did I would easily beat them._ Ok, so maybe it wouldn't be _that_ simple, but Naruto never doubted his own determination and hard-work. But who could he go to for help? Iruka? He would just point him to some random book and give no practical pointers. The assistants were useless, and there was no-one else to go to.

"Team 8: Hinata Hyuga, Shino Aburame and Kiba Inuzuka, sensei is Kurenai Yuuhi"

Naruto didn't find this strange; he hated Kiba ever since they got into a fight 3 years ago. It was safe to say the feelings were mutual. But Kiba was strong and more importantly a tracker. For Hinata, clearly the Byakugan was similarly good for tracking. But what annoyed Naruto was that she basically looked down on anyone with a normal background. _Arrogant stuck up bitch._ She fitted well with Kiba.

"Team 10: Choji Akimichi, Shikamaru Nara and Ino Yamanaka."

Wincing at the last name, Naruto felt sorry for Shikamaru and Choji. Although he doubted they would mind Ino, given the history of the Ino-Shika-Cho trio. "Sensei is Asuma Sarutobi"

"And finally Team 11: Sakura Haruno, Naruto- " _NOOOOOO,_ Naruto groaned smashing his head on the table, he didn't notice Sakura doing the exact same thing across the classroom. A lot of people, including Ino, were laughing at them "alright that's enough out of you two, the last member is Ryoga and your sensei is Yugao Uzuki."

Naruto, after getting over his depression, smiled at Ryoga who nodded back in acknowledgement. _At least he's a nice guy, unlike some others._

All the Sensei were scheduled to come after lunch which gave the genin a lot of time since this was early morning. Naruto got up stretching, ready to get early lunch when in front of the classroom a woman materialised out of thin air.

Long purple hair reaching her waist, with a jonin uniform and headband sewn on her shoulder, she looked around the class with unemotional black eyes. "Sakura Haruno, Ryoga and Naruto stand in front of me. I am your new sensei Yugao Uzuki." Her voice was bland and she had a disinterested posture. _Does she not want a genin team or something?_ Naruto felt quite indignant about having a reluctant sensei, but still dutifully got up and followed Sakura and Ryoga to the front.

The classroom, previously quite rowdy, was now completely silent. She looked at them for a few seconds and nodded. "Be at training ground 11 in 10 minutes. Failure to arrive in time means you lose your genin title." And then she vanished.

"WHAAATTTTT, how can she just do that?" Sakura screamed in hysteria "Training ground 11 is at least 20 minutes even if we go all out, what's up with that?"

"Maybe 20 for you, a girl with zero fitness" Naruto mumbled, before promptly running out of the door and rushing towards ground 11. He could see Ryoga running just ahead, as talented as he was Naruto was stronger physically. He quickly caught up before overtaking Ryoga. But even sprinting at full speed it took 15 minutes to teach the grounds, Yugao was standing there in silence.

"You're late" Her voice was cold, her expression even more so. "And where's your third teammate?" After noticing only 2 people she knitted her eyebrows. They were weak, she realised that much, but was the girl even worse?

Naruto and Ryoga, who were panting from the run, looked at each other blankly. "I think she was just behind us", came Ryoga's unsure response. Yugao said nothing in reply, simply closing her eyes and waiting quietly. The two boys, who felt the oppressive vibe, joined her in silence. After 5 more minutes a pink figure was seen in the distance, which coalesced gradually into a very sweaty and tired Sakura. "*Huff* sorry *huff* I'm late" She collapsed onto the ground.

"My first impression of you guys, is that you're all pathetic. In fact, I should fail all of you right now for your complete lack of fitness." They all glared at her. "Oh, you have any complaints? Don't bother, I couldn't care less." She pulled out 2 bells from her pouch before tying them to her waist. "I pretty much expected that I would get a weaker team, so I suppose I'll just give you guys a few chances. You need to get these bells from me, if you do then you pass. If you don't in... let's say 5 hours... then you fail and go straight back to the academy."

All 3 of them stiffened, before looking aghast and immediately starting to shout:

"Haven't we already passed, why do we have-"

"Wait there's 2 bells, so only 2 of us-"

"This is completely unfair, aren't you supposed to care abo-"

"SHUT UP" Yugao shouted, killing intent billowed at them as their faces all went pale. "I don't care about your complaints. Either get the bells or don't, no questioning. Show me what you've got. One final piece of advice, if you don't aim to kill me then you don't stand a chance"

Sakura looked like she had something to say, but catching Yugao's dark look she flinched and got ready. Naruto and Ryoga had already pulled out kunai and were getting into their stances. Seeing this, Yugao nodded.

"Okay, now that you're all ready, BEGIN"

(Location: Konoha Tree-house Bar – Jonin Lounge)

"Heh, Yugao's pretty impatient. She already went to pick up her kids." A middle aged man with a scruffy beard sat on one of the sofas. A cigar in hand, he looked over to a silver haired man opposite.

"Like it's going to make a difference, aren't her genin the worst in the year?" An absolutely stunning woman sat next to him, with black hair and red eyes. She wore a unique dress that resembled bandages, but in a stylish way. "I heard she even picked up the dead-last."

"'Don't underestimate her Kurenai, she may have stepped out of line but she's still an excellent kunoichi." The silver haired man replied, respect evident in his tone. He was in standard jonin uniform, but was wearing his headband at a slant which covered his left eye. "She may have a talentless team, but she can still turn them into good soldiers. Although she has no chance of winning the bet."

"Just what happened with her Kakashi? Even Asuma has no idea how she became a jonin." Kurenai soldiered on, clearly pressing for answers.

"That's enough Kurenai," Asuma interjected, "all we know is she made a mistake, even if Kakashi knew he would have been sworn to secrecy. And if she somehow manages to build a great team they would not only have to become chunin during the exams next year, they would also have to beat our teams. So it's basically impossible."

None of the others said anything, clearly they agreed with Asuma.

"But Gai is definitely coming after you Kakashi, his team is really strong." Kakashi groaned at Asuma's words. "That's the problem Asuma, and it's not just Gai's team."

"Hmm?" Kurenai and Asuma both looked at each other in confusion, before sitting up and looking seriously at Kakashi.

"Did you forget about Anko's team, or Aoba's team? Oh and don't forget about Itachi, apparently his team can already beat chunin squads, they're just waiting for next year's exams." Kurenai looked horrified, Asuma in deep thought.

"How troublesome." Asuma sighed, Kurenai and Kakashi nodded in agreement.

(Location: Training ground 11)

After Yugao said begin, Naruto immediately rushed at Yugao. He wanted to pass as soon as possible. Ryoga and Sakura immediately made for the trees, disappearing from view.

Naruto threw multiple shuriken with his right hand, the left still holding onto his kunai, as he rushed at Yugao. CLANG, the shuriken were all deflected, only then Naruto noticed a kunai in her hand.

 _Fast_. He aimed his kunai for Yugao's neck, who easily dodged. Naruto aimed a roundhouse kick at her torso. She blocked it and grabbed his leg, then threw him over her shoulder as he landed almost 10 metres away.

He gritted his teeth and threw the kunai at Yugao, rushing towards her once again. This time he went through several hand-seals, after which 3 Naruto clones appeared.

" **Bunshin no Jutsu"**

Yugao scoffed, after Naruto's kunai was deflected she suddenly disappeared from sight.

"Okay, I've seen enough." Naruto heard. The voice was behind him! But before he could turn around a strike hit his neck and he passed out.

==Sakura==

A small distance away Sakura watched in dismay as Yugao knocked Naruto out. "She's ridiculously powerful! Just how on earth are we supposed to get those bells" Shaking her head she turned away, preparing to run as far as possible. _Maybe she'll pass the ones who can last for the next 3 hours, I don't need to fight her._

"You aren't going to pass if you don't try." A voice rang out behind her. Sakura screamed in alarm and quickly turned around, fumbling with her kunai. But there was no one there.

" **Demonic Illusion: Hell Viewing Technique"**

She was transported to an empty space, darkness surrounding her, when suddenly she dropped into a forest. "What, where am I?" She got up rubbing her head, before hearing a rustling. She turned around, only to see her beloved Sasuke's dead body covered in kunai. "AHHHHHHHHHH" She screamed before fainting. *Thud*

"Hmmm, so this is why Kurenai and Anko were laughing at me. She's this pathetic? I might as well get rid of her and lead a 3 man team, that's if the other one can at least hold a kunai properly." Yugao wasn't angry anymore, simply resigned. What would anger achieve? It's not like they'd suddenly turn into amazing shinobi if she threw a tantrum. She would just judge how strong they were and take it from there.

==Ryoga==

Ryoga didn't know why he had such a sadistic teacher. She literally made this test to beat them up, Naruto being the prime example. He wasn't sure what happened to Sakura, but he was pretty sure it wouldn't be anything positive. She might have had a good ranking, but it was her theory that pulled her through. She was the worst at taijutsu, practically worthless. Naruto could at least fight a bit. _Still, she's not too bad._

"You've been waiting for me this whole time; did you not consider the possibility of me waiting for you?" Yugao appeared in a swirl of leaves, arms crossed with her hip cocked at one side. She was clearly not taking him seriously.

 _Good_ , Ryoga quickly made some subtle checks before he replied, "You're here to test our fighting skills, and whether we get those bells is irrelevant." Yugao frowned, but didn't say anything.

Ryoga wouldn't have cared even if she had responded, he quickly sped towards Yugao kunai in hand. As he swung his kunai and tried to hit her, his arm was blocked by her leg. Then he discretely made a hand-sign.

*FWOOSH*, kunai and shuriken appeared from all around the clearing. Yugao still looked unimpressed as she handily dodged all projectiles whilst still managing to score some hits on Ryoga. Just when she was about to knock him out he went through more hand seals and slammed his hands to the ground.

" **Doton: Tsuchi Nami no Jutsu"**

The ground suddenly moved, like it was a wave of water, which disrupted Yugao's footing. Then suddenly more kunai and shuriken emerged from the trees, clearly aimed all around Yugao in case she tried to escape. The kunai hit Yugao only for her to turn into a block of wood.

Ryoga widened his eyes, _Substitution jutsu_ , he panicked. But before he could even look around there was a quick strike on his neck and he fell unconscious.

Yugao was behind him as he fell, a look of surprise on her face. This was the first time she was actually impressed. Although Ryoga used a weak jutsu it was still elemental manipulation! Perhaps it wasn't so hopeless after all. She picked Ryoga up and took him to where Naruto had fallen, Sakura was already there. After dropping him to the ground she slapped them all awake.

They were all groaning as they got up, Sakura less so since she had simply fainted. Yugao stared at them coldly, waiting for them to get their bearings before finally speaking.

"None of you understood the purpose of this test, and I even gave you a handicap." The genin looked confused, before Sakura hesitantly expressed her feelings.

"Wasn't the whole point to see how strong we were and whether we had the ability to get the bells from you". Yugao scoffed, clearly annoyed. "I'm a jonin, you thought you could take something from me that easily? How naive. I should just send the lot of you back to the academy."

Naruto knitted his eyebrows. "But then why would you - ", Naruto paused before suddenly exclaiming in shock, "You wanted to see if we could work together. That's the only way we could possibly get those bells. You only had 2 bells though, wouldn't we end up fighting over who would get them?" He ended up even more confused.

However Yugao actually nodded in agreement. "Good, although you're late you were still able get to the answer." She looked at Ryoga, who suddenly realised he had been wrong the whole time. She pointed at him. "You were way too arrogant and conceited, thinking you knew the purpose of the test and choosing to wait for me. In a real mission, arrogance can easily get you killed." He clenched his fists and looked down.

"As for you Naruto, you rushed at me straight away without any plan or strategy. The ninja who don't think before charging at the enemy are like fish in a barrel. With your pitiful skills, you're even worse." At first Naruto was staring daggers at Yugao, but in the end he simply nodded. He had been a bit impatient so he could understand where she was coming from.

Sakura gulped in fear, she did the worst out of the three! And sure enough Yugao turned to her. She didn't say anything, and before Sakura even realised what was happening she found herself tied to the wooden post.

"Whuh? What? Wait why are you doing this to me? Please let me go, don't kill me!" Sakura started to cry and looked truly pathetic.

"You, however, are the worst. Couldn't even break through a simple D rank genjutsu? Even if I accepted how weak you are, what I cannot accept is your cowardice. You tried to run away and hide instead of trying to pass the test, why are you a ninja in the first place? And you've already started crying, a weakling like you doesn't belong in the shinobi world" Yugao's words cut deep, and Sakura cried even more now. _Vicious lady_ , Naruto knew he couldn't mess with this sensei, he had a whole new appreciation for ninja.

Yugao clapped her hands, gaining their attention. "Alright, I'll be brutally honest. I don't want to take any of you as my genin, but if I don't give you a fair chance the Hokage might be displeased with me. So I'll give you one final chance to fight me as a group and convince me to take you guys as a team. However," Here she pointed at Sakura, "she cannot participate, since she would basically be useless in a team and I don't like having dead-weights." Naruto and Ryoga looked at each other, and looked quite confused. How could they beat her with just two people, and didn't she just talk about teamwork? Wouldn't having Sakura give them greater strength?

"I'll give you 15 minutes to prepare yourself, come to the waterfall north-east of here by that time. Otherwise, I'll assume you've given up." Her words ended with killing intent, causing them to start sweating. When she disappeared, they sighed in relief.

There was a poignant silence in the clearing, before Naruto finally spoke. "Ryoga, you thinking what I'm thinking?" Ryoga looked at Naruto, who jerked his head towards Sakura, before slowly nodding. "Good" Naruto took out a kunai, and cut Sakura's ropes. "Huh? So I'm free to go home?" Sakura asked, rubbing her wrists.

Naruto rolled his eyes, "No you idiot, you're coming with us for the test. Every extra person can help when we fight Yugao-sensei, you included." Sakura started, looking at Naruto in shock. But she didn't try to dissuade the boys, to be a ninja was her dream too.

"Okay, let's plan out how we'll attack. Ryoga?" They all converged, looking at Ryoga. He smirked, "We should first start by setting up tra - "

"That's enough you three." Yugao had suddenly appeared behind them, Sakura shrieked in shock whilst Naruto and Ryoga pulled out kunai. "You completely disobeyed my orders, choosing to save your teammate instead and include her in the plan to fight me." The genin paled, and Naruto gulped in fear. He didn't want to fail! "However," Here she paused, "that's why you pass."

They all looked confused, so Yugao just decided to explain everything.

She straightened up and for the first time showed a serious expression. "Do you know why Konoha won 3 wars and stayed so strong? It is not just because of our talent, but also our teamwork. There are so many heroic stories about Konoha ninja facing insurmountable odds, but overcoming them together through sheer willpower. It was because they had faith in each other and stayed true to their friends and fellow soldiers. That's a true Konoha shinobi."

There was a proud gleam in her eyes, she exuded a charisma that Naruto couldn't help but admire. This was a shinobi! A true warrior.

"The three of you are completely talentless. Particularly in comparison to your teammates. Most of them are from prominent clans and have been trained since they could walk. They learn specialised clan jutsu developed over centuries. Some have powerful bloodlines feared all across the Elemental Nations. They want only their clans to succeed and when a new vulnerable shinobi too talented appears." She suddenly paused, sadness in her eyes, "they try their hardest to shut them down."

The genin looked down, not knowing what to say. They knew there was favouritism but to this extent?

"But so what? We'll still beat them!" They looked up at her, and all of them froze. Because she was smiling. "As long as you wish to become powerful and stay true to your comrades, I will stand with you to the end. I will train you till the sun comes down, and then some. And one day you may be able to look upon your classmates, as equals. As of now, we are Team 11!"

"YESSSSSS, HAHAHA." All the genin jumped in joy, especially Naruto. They were finally shinobi! Although they were not as strong as the others they could still catch up, with such a great sensei how could it not be possible? Naruto felt a great admiration for her. This was because she had cut him down mercilessly, not to discourage him, but to humble him. To tell him how weak he really was. It wasn't demoralising, because he knew he would grow. For the first time, Naruto was happy about being in Team 11.

After that conversation, Yugao waved them off and told them to arrive tomorrow at 6 in the morning. Naruto headed straight home, eating a couple of instant ramen cups for dinner. As an orphan, he had very little money and couldn't really afford to eat in a restaurant to celebrate. "Maybe one day I'll earn enough as a ninja", Naruto said, hope in his voice. Lying down on his rickety bed, he looked at the ceiling lost in thoughts.

(Location: Unknown)

Naruto woke up in alarm; he wasn't in his flat anymore. Instead it was some kind of underground corridor. It looked fairly ostentatious, with golden patterned tiles and silver lamps attached to the walls. There were mosaics on the walls, with many pictures depicting some kind of story. Naruto paid them little attention, choosing to walk down the corridor.

"Who brought me here?" Naruto voiced his thoughts, still walking down the corridor. After almost 10 minutes he reached a huge hall. The walls were covered with even more pictures, with a gigantic spiral symbol present on the front wall. In fact the red colour reminded Naruto of his own hair. Of course Naruto's blood red hair was a rarity and he had never seen another person with similar hair.

At the centre of the hall was a giant pagoda. Naruto couldn't even see its top, it was that tall. It was coloured black with golden patterns. An ancient bell chime rang out which echoed around the hall. He felt so small, so insignificant, before the pagoda. Analysing it more closely he realised the golden patterns looked like a language of some kind, which confused him even more.

Naruto carefully looked around. Nothing of note was present asides from the pagoda, so Naruto decided to bite the bullet and enter. As he stepped through the gate a powerful force froze him on the spot. It was present for a few seconds before disappearing, and then Naruto was instantly transported to the base of the Pagoda. As he looked around he gasped in amazement. "Wow, so many glowing scrolls, and they're floating! I wonder what's inside of them." There was nothing important present in the courtyard except scrolls. A nice looking garden with some chairs and even a pool.

Naruto opened each scroll and saw what was inside. It was information, some of it was history, but others contained some kind of weird gibberish titled "Fuinjutsu". The strange part was, asides from the titles, Naruto couldn't read anything else on the scrolls.

It was the final scroll floating at the centre of the pool that caught Naruto's eye. It glowed far more brightly than the others, and exuded a kind of pressure that weighed down on Naruto. When Naruto pulled over the scroll and read the title he froze in complete shock.

"The History of Uzushiogakure".

Doton: Tsuchi Nami no Jutsu – Earth Style: Earth Wave technique (Trivia: Used by Kakashi when he was young in a competition in the anime.

 **A/N: All of what I have written has logic and is based off of the manga, even the end part (To some extent). Obviously I am expanding the idea of Fuinjutsu. But rest assured it won't get too crazy. As for the OCs and differences from canon, it's like the butterfly effect. It will all be fleshed out. I know the bell test was a bit of a copy, but I felt putting it in was necessary for the story and to just establish the relationship in Team 11. From now on its mostly original, nothing taken directly from the manga.**

 **If you're wondering about pacing, it will be quick to some extent but I want to flesh out the world as much as possible. It's kind of like building the sandbox, so that later I have more to play with. I don't think I'm that slow, so don't worry about boring dialogue.**

 **Finally, this story will expand and truly begin after chapter 5 and 6. That's when the world will become known and a lot of things will be set into motion.**

 **Please review, I would really love to know your thoughts about this! TangSan98 out!**


	2. Chapter 2 - Taskmaster from Hell

**A/N:** **Don't panic, but basically thoughts are in italics for the first chapter since its newly edited. Chapters 2 and 3 have 'thoughts' instead. Chapter 4 reverts back to italics for thoughts. Basically I still need some time to edit chapters 2 and 3. Asides from that its all cool!**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.**

 **Chapter 2 – Taskmaster from Hell, Yugao Uzuki**

(Location: Konoha Training Ground 11)

"Come on, if you want to beat those clan kids you need to do much better."

'When Yugao-sensei said that she was starting with light exercises, she meant this?' Naruto thought, sweating as he was running his 20th lap around the grounds. Sakura had already collapsed at the 8th lap, her fitness was pathetic. Only Ryoga had persisted with Naruto and he was still on his 16th.

A few minutes later Yugao shouted, "Okay that's enough. Time for the next exercise." "WHAT, THERE'S MORE?" Sakura shouted. She looked like she was about to die.

And so continued the torturous training for the best part of the morning. Running, sit-ups, push-ups and ending with taijutsu practice. Everyone, including Naruto, had collapsed at the end of it. Yugao had already covered her face with her hands, it was unknown whether she was laughing or crying.

Ryoga was the best at taijutsu, followed by Naruto and then Sakura. Although Naruto was physically stronger and faster he lacked skill, which Ryoga had in droves. Sakura was so weak it was pitiable. Yugao would have to start from scratch with her.

"This is the work-out you will do every morning. Stamina and fitness are very important for ninjas. Once you can do 25 laps in an hour I will add leg weights to make it more difficult. Similar concept for push-ups and sit-ups. Now the next aspect we are focussing on is chakra control. You will be refining control through two main exercises, tree climbing and water walking."

As Yugao trained the genin time passed by in a flash, soon enough it was near nightfall. By the end of the day Sakura was the only genin who had climbed to the top of the tree successfully, Ryoga doing slightly better than Naruto.

"Sensei, can I take the day off tomorrow since I've mastered the exercise?" Sakura asked. She didn't want to do this every day, if she could take every second day off it would be better.

Yugao frowned in response. "No, of course not. Unless it's a family emergency. Also the only reason you mastered the exercise so quickly is because you have pitifully low chakra reserves. Ryoga and Naruto have a lot more chakra than you do so it's taking them longer. I want you to learn water walking as soon as possible then practice staying on water for long periods of time to build your chakra reserves."

"Oh, right." Sakura looked downtrodden, not expecting the refusal. If anything Yugao looked even more perturbed. "Sakura, come with me for a second. I want to show you something."

Sakura looked up at Yugao in confusion. 'Show me something? What does she mean?' But she still nodded in agreement. "You two are dismissed. Missions start from tomorrow at 7 so be at the missions office by 6:45. When missions are over we train as per usual." The two boys nodded, looking curiously at Sakura before departing.

Yugao placed her hand on Sakura's shoulder.

 **Shunshin no jutsu**

(Location: Uchiha Clan Grounds)

They reached the front of the Uchiha compound. Yugao immediately walked into the compound, Sakura ran over to catch up. For a few minutes they walked in silence, all around them people from the Uchiha clan present. There were shops and restaurants, and many people who had the Uchiha clan symbol emblazoned on their backs. Yugao stopped in front of a building, Sakura recognised it as the Konoha police force headquarters. They managed law and order in Konoha.

"I'm sure you know about this place, it is Konoha Police Headquarters. Do you know who the leader of the police force is?"

Sakura shook her head, she only knew about their role. She knew nothing about the leadership here.

"The man's name is Fugaku Uchiha. He has been touted as a genius of the Uchiha clan, although his eldest son is even more talented than him. They say he almost touches the S rank threshold, in fact due to his position of Clan Head in the Uchiha clan he is stated as an S-rank ninja in Iwagakure's bingo book."

Sakura gasped, he was that powerful?

"And his youngest son is your classmate Sasuke Uchiha." At this Sakura was completely shocked. Her world suddenly erupted into chaos. Sasuke's father was this amazing?

"As for your other classmate Wulin Namikaze not only is his father, the Hokage, an SS-rank shinobi with a flee-on-sight order. His mother is also an S rank shinobi specialising in Fuinjutsu, she's the best fuinjutsu master in the village"

Sakura's mind was frazzled as she heard all this. It was one thing to suspect, and another thing to be shown their terrifying backgrounds. Her eyes were widened as her breathing got heavier. Opposite her Yugao looked slightly satisfied, if a little bitter, at this. "So do you really think they will consider a mediocre girl as their wife?" Sakura looked up sharply at that, how did Yugao know about her crush on them?

As if to read her mind, Yugao laughed and answered, "Of course I know, I have access to the academy teacher notes and I am quite observant. My point is that you need to figure out what you're going to do with your life. Firstly, thinking about love at such a young age is stupid and I'm 100% sure Wulin and Sasuke are not thinking about it. Secondly they will only marry a kunoichi, and it has to be a talented one at that. Just running after them without making yourself stronger is useless."

Here she paused, Sakura hanging on to her every word. "I'm giving you a break for 3 days. At the end of the 3 days you have a choice. You continue chasing after those boys, but you would have to quit being a ninja. Or you put your heart and soul into becoming a ninja and stop running after those two kids, for now at least. Remember, there is no love on the battlefield." Yugao ended sternly.

In her eyes, Sakura was like a ticking time bomb. If she was so dedicated to a couple of boys instead of becoming a ninja just what would she achieve in the future? Yugao wouldn't have such a liability on her team, it was unwise.

Having said her bit, she left via Shunshin, leaving Sakura to her own thoughts.

(Location: Unknown)

" _Uzushiogakure's chief clan was the Uzumaki clan. They were the chief guardians and protectors of the village. The clan head of the Uzumaki clan also held the position of village leader. Under him were a multitude of ranked ninja, but perhaps most famous were the 9 great masters. Each one of them specialised in a particular area of fighting."_

'Woah, 9 great masters? Sounds really cool!'

In the unknown hall inside the giant black pagoda sat Naruto, reading the scroll he had seen a few nights ago. Asides from the history of Uzushiogakure, the scroll also talked about the political situation of the rest of the Elemental Nations. Just from that Naruto realised how ancient this village really was. Every night when Naruto went to sleep, he would be transported here. He made the most of his time by reading the scroll.

For the last few days Yugao had been training the team, or at least two thirds of it. It was only today that Sakura had finally returned. An interesting change though was her attitude. Normally she'd complain about anything they did, but today she was silent. She also didn't slack off like usual and actually trained until exhaustion. Naruto guessed it must have been something Yugao said three days ago, but he didn't pry. Whatever it was, Sakura was at least taking things seriously which could only be good for the team.

Just as he was about the read the descriptions of the 9 masters the sound of flapping wings interrupted his reading.

"Interlopers, interlopers, kill all who desecrate the ancestral pagoda." A high squeaky voice rang across the base of the pagoda. Naruto quickly got up and reached for his kunai pouch, only to realise he had no weapons on him! He was completely unarmed. In front of him slowly appeared a small, multicoloured bird. It had an oversized orange beak and a mainly green body. But its body had red wings and a golden feathered tail. Its eyes were blue and talons were silver. Needless to say it looked like a complete mess.

"Who are you invader, how dare you unlawfully enter the ancestral pagoda. Unforgiveable. Unforgiveable. As punishment you shall be sealed into the pagoda and imprisoned for 50 years, being slowly refined into pure chakra." He declared in a pompous voice, trying and failing to balance his body as he flew over.

"WHAT, don't imprison me! I don't know how I got here, I'm from Konohagakure. I slept in my bed and woke up in this large hall with the pagoda, and when I entered the pagoda I appeared here." Naruto started to panic, 50 years? That was 4x his life up till now!

"LIES. FILTHY HUMAN LIES. You cannot just casually enter the pagoda, not unless the blood flowing within you is the Uzu -" Here the parrot froze, looking wide-eyed at Naruto.

Naruto blinked his eyes, and suddenly the parrot was perched on his shoulder staring right at him. "ARRRGHHH A parrot is on my shoulder!" Naruto was jumping around in panic whilst the 'parrot' used its beak to cut Naruto's cheek and took some of his blood.

"Hmm, it is the Uzumaki bloodline. In fact the purity is off the charts, he might even be ..." Here the parrot stopped, looking seriously at Naruto who was panting heavily and looking horrified at the parrot.

"What is your name child?" The parrot asked. Naruto looked at it warily before answering "Naruto". There was a pause, with no one saying anything. This continued for a few minutes before the parrot lost its patience. "That's it? Second name, your second name idiot. What is your surname?" The parrot squawked, flapping its wings in agitation. "I don't know my surname I was an orphan since birth." Naruto growled, he didn't appreciate being reminded of his lack of second name.

"Fine, I'm sorry about that." It didn't sound sorry at all. "But your second name is definitely Uzumaki, because the blood flowing within you is the purest Uzumaki bloodline I have ever come across. So your name should be Naruto Uzumaki."

"Huh, really?" Naruto had been reading about their history, but he didn't know he was actually related to the Uzumaki. Had he finally found his family?

"Yup, and this means you are not invading. And it is my duty to explain to you the purpose of this pagoda." The parrot flew onto a pedestal near the top of the pagoda base. "The place you are in is probably your mindscape, and this pagoda is called the Ancestral Pagoda. It is the foremost artefact of the Uzumaki clan, containing the most complex seals the Uzumaki produced over centuries of research. It has a total of 99 floors, each one of them having a particular purpose for training or fighting. Right now you are on the first floor, it seems you are reading the clan history?"

"Yes, that's right." Naruto nodded. "So can I learn jutsu here as well?"

"Indeed you can, but only Fuinjutsu." The parrot was sharpening its talons absent-mindedly. "Before you ask, the scrolls are right there next to you. I'll unlock their seals so you can read them now. The first 33 floors are the basics and intermediate stages. Once you have read everything on one floor you will have to pass the test conducted by the pagoda and supervised by me. I will not help you at all, the Uzumaki believed in a hands free approach and I abide by their rules. Only after the first 33 floors will you learn the true fuinjutsu secrets of the clan, so hurry up."

The parrot, satisfied with its words, immediately flew away. "Wait, where is the clan? Where is my family? Why is this pagoda sealed inside of me?" But the parrot was already gone, Naruto stood there in silence. There was a sad look in his eyes, but soon replaced by determination.

"One day once I'm strong enough, I'll just find out for myself!"

(1 month later) (Location: Training ground 11)

A quiet plain surrounded by trees and at the front there was a giant waterfall. 2 boys and a girl were doing push-ups and one could vaguely hear their grunts of exertion. The girl had long pink hair and a long pink kimono (A/N: Pre-time skip appearance), she was doing push ups the quickest. The 2 boys, one with short brown hair and the other with blood red hair, were slightly slower. They did, however, have heavy black vests strapped on their chests.

"Time's up team, line up." Yugao shouted, waving them over. They quickly assembled in front of her, and as Yugao looked at them she felt increasingly satisfied. Over the last month she had trained them into the ground and they had improved a great deal. Their taijutsu had particularly improved, along with their chakra control. All of them could fight on water indefinitely, even Sakura could endure for a long period of time. Naruto had also fixed all his co-ordination problems when he fought and Ryoga had made his Doton Ninjutsu stronger through increased chakra control and size. Although they didn't learn anything new they had transformed into proper genin.

Yugao took a deep breath, before speaking. "The last month was to build up your bases and to make sure you had the necessary foundation to learn more complicated techniques. Now that you've reached this stage a whole new world has opened up! Sakura."

"Yes, Yugao-sensei" Sakura stepped forward, her voice much calmer and steadier than a month ago. Yugao nodded as she said "I've found a medical ninja who's willing to take on a student. You meet the necessary chakra control requirements so this is the best opportunity for you. In terms of fighting I've found some genjutsu scrolls from the archive. Take this one to start, once you've learnt it show me. I might not be the best at genjutsu but I know enough to teach you."

Yugao pulled out a blue coloured scroll, Sakura squealed excitedly before taking it from Yugao. "Thank you so much sensei!" Yugao smiled, before waving her off.

"Ryoga, you are the most advanced in terms of ninjutsu and taijutsu. Here's a scroll detailing the training methods to improve your control over Earth style ninjutsu. Once you've gone through that I will give you a C rank jutsu to learn. Remember, control is about visualisation. Any questions then don't hesitate to ask me. I do not have an Earth affinity but I am quite experienced." Ryoga nodded, smiling happily, before stepping back.

"And finally Naruto" Naruto jumped forward, visibly vibrating in excitement. Sakura giggled and Ryoga also smiled. Over the last month of annoying D rank missions they had bonded and improved their relationship. Sakura was no longer routinely obsessed over Sasuke/Wulin which made talking to her easier. As for Ryoga he was quiet but his actions spoke for themselves. Naruto of course was on the loud side which compensated for Ryoga's silence.

"I don't know your affinity, so channel your chakra through this paper. From it we'll find out which element you are predisposed for." Naruto nodded quickly before taking the paper from Yugao's outstretched hand and channelling his chakra through it. The paper immediately split into many smaller pieces.

"Woah, what does that mean?" Naruto was surprised by the quick change, "what kind of paper is this?" Yugao also looked quite surprised, "it's called chakra paper and according to it you have a wind affinity." She looked quite sad when said this, seeing this Naruto's heart fell.

"Is that bad?" He asked. "No, of course not. No affinity is bad per se. But to have a wind affinity in the land of fire is very rare. In fact there is only one jonin in the village specialising in wind affinity." Yugao hurried to comfort Naruto, but couldn't help but feel depressed. "And unfortunately that jonin will not help you."

"Why sensei, aren't all Konoha shinobi allowed to ask each other for advice and help?" Sakura asked, also confused. Yugao nodded absent-mindedly, she was hesitating about whether to tell them about the bet. Deliberating for some time she explained the situation to them.

"So you made a bet with the other three jonin, and you win if we win against their teams in 11 months time? You're actually signing us up for the chunin exams next year?" Ryoga looked quite surprised. "What if Naruto doesn't tell him that you are our sensei?" He had to admit, this was the first time he had heard of such a strange bet.

"No, he knows all of you. And if you reveal the fact that you have a wind affinity he might even try to stonewall you from getting any information from the archives. This needs to be kept quiet. I'll try to get my hands on those scrolls; they'll at least help you a little. But you will struggle without guidance."

"How annoying, who is this guy?" Naruto grumbled, irritated by the obstacles in his imaginary path to greatness. "Asuma Sarutobi, he is the jonin squad leader of team 10."

"Oh Shikamaru and Choji's team. We have to beat them as part of the bet? So the other teams are team 7 and 8 right?" Ryoga asked, deflating when he realised how difficult the task ahead was.

"Yes that's correct, but don't worry about it for now. Just focus on getting stronger. Everything else we can deal with as it comes. Now, let's start on your specialised training!

"Yes, sensei." They all chorused, getting to work on their particular tasks.

(Location: Mindscape)

"PARROT, COME OUT PARROT. I NEED TO SPEAK TO YOU ABOUT SOMETHING." Once again Naruto had entered the black pagoda. It was a nightly event, and over the last month he had managed to reach the third floor of the pagoda. He could already make a storage seal and an explosive seal, which was fast according to the parrot.

In sealing you had to first cover the basic foundation, which consisted of all kinds of characters and symbols that had many different meanings. Then you would put them together to form primers, combinations of symbols that produced a particular effect. E.g. A thunder primer that would release pure lightning energy. From the primers you would create compound seals like the advanced storage seal. You could then further develop them into sealing arrays, which were large scale constructs that could theoretically fight an army (If you had an army's amount of chakra). The main drawback was the chakra requirements, but that had never been a problem for Naruto.

"Foolish child, why do you annoy me so much? Go on, what do you want?" An ethereal voice sounded out all around Naruto. "Where are you parrot?"

"I'm in my sauna, and I'm not getting out. 5 minutes, after which I'm ignoring you until the next test." He sounded even more irritated, so Naruto quickly explained his lack of wind chakra guidance.

"Hmm, wind chakra. I could help you but it would be irregular. Then again you're not exactly a regular Uzumaki." The parrot has stopped speaking, clearly thinking about what to do. Naruto said nothing, but his fervent gaze betrayed his excitement. If he could get some basic instruction it would be perfect.

"Very well, here is a scroll on the basics of wind chakra manipulation and one C rank jutsu. I want to remind you that the pagoda only specialises in fuinjutsu knowledge. In terms of other things it has the most basic of information. In fact for wind chakra I have no more jutsu to give you and you'll have to find any new jutsu by yourself."

"Thanks parrot! I'll keep that in mind." Naruto shouted happily, grabbing the scroll and putting it away. There was no reply; the parrot had gone back to its sauna. Naruto shifted his attention to his work desk. It was time to try drawing the next primer.

(Location: Hokage Office)

Minato stood overlooking the village from his window. He could see the four faces on the cliff alongside the new construction that was taking place to meet the demands of the larger population.

"Hokage-sama, the envoy has just arrived." A man in a chunin flak-jacket, his name was Keito, had entered. This was his secretary who was almost 50 years old. It hadn't been Minato but rather Kushina that had chosen him, so that Minato didn't get 'distracted' by any female secretaries.

"Send them in." Minato ordered, Keito nodded before leaving the office.

A few minutes later an old man walked into the office. He was wearing the cloths of a simple monk, and yet the sash on his waist told Minato otherwise. "Ah, Guardian Chiriku, what brings you here to Konoha? Is it a message on behalf of the Daimyo?" The monk smiled, before swiftly replying.

"An honour to meet you Hokage-sama, the daimyo sends his regards. He wanted me to deliver this scroll to you." He pulled a red scroll from his sleeve, which was emblazoned with the same symbol that was on Chiriku's sash: Fire.

"I'm pretty sure he wouldn't send you just to deliver a scroll. Was there anything else?" Minato had placed the scroll on his desk and was giving Chiriku his full attention. After all, Chiriku was ranked 3rd amongst the guardian shinobi! He possessed similar strength to the ANBU Commander and was only dispatched for the most important tasks of the Daimyo. The other 2 guardians ranked above him stayed in the capital at all times for protection, only number 3 and below had freedom to move around.

"You are indeed correct. The information I bring is on behalf of the princess, who has received intel that the S-rank rogue ninja Orochimaru was sighted in the Land of Grass. He has apparently set up an organisation there as a front for his operations." Minato looked alarmed, even Jiraiya hadn't found out about this and he was Konoha's spymaster! He couldn't help but admire the princess, she was truly brilliant. 'If only she was one of our shinobi.'

"And the name of this organisation?" Minato probed, he would have to dig up more about this later.

"Otogakure."

(Location: Konoha Missions Office)

Naruto, Ryoga and Sakura were waiting outside the office. Although it was 6 in the morning, there were still plenty of people present.

"Ready for your first C rank mission?" Yugao suddenly appeared beside them, which would have been scary had she not have been doing the same thing all the time. "Yeah, can't wait!" Naruto pumped his fist in excitement. Ryoga and Sakura also looked pretty expectant. It had already been 3 months since Naruto found out his affinity was wind and they had flown by very quickly. Needless to say he felt very confident about C rank missions after all his training.

As they walked into the office, they could see a long table with multiple chunin seated. There was one jonin in the middle handing out assignments to different genin teams. As soon as it was team 11's turn Yugao requested for the C rank mission to Holy Fire City, the capital of the land of fire and home to the Royal Fire Association.

"Rejected, this mission has already been reserved for team 7 so you will have to choose another." The jonin drawled, "here's a list of all the other unreserved C rank missions."

"Wait a moment. I reserved this mission a week ago! At that time it wasn't reserved by anyone so why the sudden change?" Yugao sharply retorted. There was no way someone had reserved it before her, that was impossible.

"That's because the jonin commander has put special preference on my team, Yugao-chan." A lazy voice came from behind them. When they turned around they saw Kakashi with Wulin, Sasuke and Yakumo. Yugao stared at Kakashi unemotionally, before nodding in acquiescence. She headed to the list of unreserved C ranks, before randomly picking one.

"Let's go." Naruto and Ryoga were glaring at Sasuke and Wulin. Sakura though was just staring at them with doe eyes, she still hadn't gotten over her crush on them. "What are you looking at? We got this position because we're way stronger than you. Any one of us could take out your entire team." Wulin disparaged them because he wasn't happy with their attitude. Especially since Wulin knew how weak Naruto and Sakura were. Even Ryoga was nothing in front of him. Sasuke and Yakumo looked like they didn't care at all, not even looking at Team 11.

Just when Naruto was about to retort a hand landed on his shoulder, he looked up at Yugao who simply shook her head. "We have a mission to complete."

(Location: Eastern Konoha gate)

"Why didn't you say anything sensei, that guy was mocking you in front of everyone." Naruto was fuming. He wanted to punch Wulin's smug arrogant face until even his mother couldn't recognise him.

"Exactly, Naruto is right sensei. We can't just let them walk all over us." Ryoga rarely made his emotions known, but today even he was angry.

"Because that's what Kakashi wants. He did that on purpose so that you'd get annoyed and reveal how strong you guys are after 4 months. Didn't I tell you there would be favouritism? The Jonin commander only got to his position because of the Uchiha clan plus Kakashi is a well known ninja with connections. It's only natural they'd get preference over us. Don't forget behind team 7 is not only the Uchiha clan, but also the Kurama clan and the Hokage. Their political position is unrivalled amongst all the genin teams, so watch your words around them.

The team minus Sakura deflated at that. It was a situation they were completely helpless about. "The only way to have your voice heard is to perform extremely well in the Chunin Exams in 8 months time." They perked up at that and looked at each other determinedly. There's no way they would let that chance go!

"Are you guys my escort?" A man wearing glasses and a bamboo hat appeared in front of them. He was holding a wine bottle and had a slurred voice.

"Yeah that's us." Naruto confirmed excitedly. This was their first C rank mission!

"You're just a bunch of snot nosed brats, how on earth are you babies going to protect me? This is what Konoha calls value for money?"

*SLICE* Half of the bottle crashed onto the ground, the other half still in the man's hands. Naruto was holding a tanto in his hand and if one looked closely they would see a layer of chakra around the tanto. It extended over the metal by about a centimetre.

"How's this for protection, asshole?" Naruto mocked. He didn't appreciate being insulted by someone he just met. Yugao simply held a hand to her head, as if to convey her exasperation with the world. Ryoga smirked and Sakura covered her mouth to stop giggling.

"Ok ok, I'm sorry. You guys are super ninja. Definitely good enough." He was nodding repeatedly. "My name is Tazuna and I'm the bridge builder from Nami no Kuni. Please protect me with your lives."

(Location: Near the Land of Fire's eastern border)

"We're approaching the sea, from there we'll take a boat to Nami no Kuni." Tazuna explained. Sakura nodded before asking him questions about Nami no Kuni. She had been speaking with Tazuna for the last few hours, and it was driving Naruto insane.

They crossed a puddle which looked quite innocuous to the genin, but Yugao had given it a second look as she followed behind the others.

Once they had passed the puddle it transformed into two masked ninja. Both had gauntlets dripping with a liquid of some kind. They rushed towards Yugao, and before anyone noticed tied her up with the chains.

"WHAT, enemy attack everyone. Protect the – "Yugao shouted out before she was cut into pieces by the sharp chains.

"Yugao-sensei!" Sakura was horrified and froze having no idea on what to do. Almost immediately after the two ninja rushed towards Sakura.

Ryoga immediately pulled out a kunai and threw it at the chain, pinning it to the ground and stopping both ninja. They immediately released the chain from their gauntlet and rushed at Tazuna from different angles.

Ryoga speeded through various hand seals before slamming his hands onto the ground.

" **Doton: Doroku Gaeshi"**

A wall of earth appeared in front of Tazuna, protecting him against the ninja. Naruto unsealed his tanto from a storage seal on his wrist, channelling wind chakra through it as he slashed towards one of the ninja. He blocked it with his gauntlet.

*CLANG*. Their weapons clashed as Naruto launched multiple attacks at the rogue ninja with his tanto. Most of them were blocked, but he tried to dodge the last strike only to scream as Naruto's enhanced wind tanto made a deep cut into his body. Blood was flowing out of the wound as his hoarse voice sounded, "Damn wind chakra."

The other rogue ninja headed towards the wall protecting Tazuna but suddenly his surroundings turned into a giant firestorm.

 **Magen: Narakumi no Jutsu**

'Genjutsu!' He immediately formed the ram hand seal to break the genjutsu. "Kai". His surroundings returned back to normal. Quickly getting his bearings he attacked Sakura, realising she was behind the genjutsu. She looked quite un-perturbed as he cut her in half, which set off alarm bells in his head. The two halves of the body vanished into thin air, his surroundings also completely changed.

 **Magen: Kokoni Arazu no Jutsu**

Sakura had already made her way behind the rogue ninja and quickly struck the back of his neck, knocking him out. She then sighed in relief.

"Good job team." They looked dumbfounded as Yugao appeared in front of them. "Substitution Jutsu."

They quickly looked at where Yugao's dead body was, only to find it replaced by a severed log. "Now, Tazuna-san, tell us the truth. Why were those ninja after you?"

Naruto and the others looked at each other in confusion as Tazuna's face paled.

(Location: Unknown)

On top of a large cliff stood a tall bulky man. Behind him there was a ninja kneeled whilst reporting some news. The bulky man wore a black cloak and spoke in a deep, booming voice.

"He left Konoha? With who?"

"A former ANBU called Yugao Uzuki, nicknamed 'Silent Death'. She is a top tier A rank shinobi. Alongside him are two other genin of no notable background." The ninja fell silent as the man hummed in thought.

"He's exposed. Send the Fire Master to Nami no Kuni. The most recent intel suggests that Gato shipping corporation has set up a monopoly there, he has hired multiple jonin. Nothing can happen to the young master, at least until the Battle of Succession." He waved his hand, dismissing the ninja.

"Yes, sir." The ninja got up, bowing to the man before turning around and leaving. On his back emblazoned proudly was a symbol.

A symbol of a whirlpool.

Doton: Doroku Gaeshi = Earth Style: Terra Shield

Magen: Narakumi no Jutsu = Hell Viewing Technique

Magen: Kokoni Arazu no Jutsu = False Surroundings Technique


	3. Chapter 3 - Ominous Waves

**A/N: Sorry for the late chapter release! I was climbing Mt. Snowden (Which destroyed my body) and therefore did not have the time to write anything. Typical bank holiday. This is where the plot thickens for the Wave arc. This is where you guys will realise what I mean when I say 'Strong World'!**

 **Also I've revised my overall word count in terms of the full story. It won't be 100k it will probably be much much more. I've introduced a lot more depth into the story. (Tell me what you think as it comes, I really want to know what you guys think!)**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. I wish I did but I can't draw so it's better if I didn't.**

 **Chapter 3 – Ominous Waves**

"So let me get this straight. You're building some bridge that's going to ruin a huge billionaire's business so he's sending some psycho assassins after you?" Naruto squinted his eyes as if to see through Tazuna, clearly not believing his story. They were already on a boat to Nami no Kuni after Yugao got the details off Tazuna, but Naruto was still sceptical.

"Yes, his name is Gato and he's a tyrant. If you don't believe me why don't you ask your sensei?" Replying in exasperation he looked towards Yugao who was resting with her eyes closed. "He's telling the truth Naruto so drop it. I was worried this mission was too easy but it seems we lucked out. It'll be a good experience for you guys in preparation for the chunin exams." Tazuna deadpanned at her. 'Good experience? What about my life being in danger or my country being on the verge of ruin?'

"Ok ok sheesh" Naruto pouted, sitting on the boat with his arms crossed. Seeing his expression Sakura and Ryoga looked at each other, almost laughing in the process.

Soon they had crossed the river and were walking towards the village. Naruto had been extremely twitchy ever since he found out assassins might attack Tazuna and, much to the team's frustration, was jumping at every slight sound.

Suddenly his ears twitched and he threw some shuriken into the nearby bushes. The team immediately tensed, "what is it?" Sakura asked. Naruto pulled out the suspect, only to find a dead white rabbit. "Honestly Naruto! Will you give it a rest? There's nothing -"

"GET DOWN!" Yugao shouted, pulling Sakura and Tazuna flat onto the ground. Naruto and Ryoga ducked just in time as a massive cleaver spun through the air where everyone's heads were. It then cut into a nearby tree.

Naruto blinked his eyes and suddenly there was a man standing on the sword's handle. He wore a Kirigakure forehead protector and had bandages wrapped around his mouth and nose. Strangely enough, he had no eyebrows.

"Zabuza Momochi, the demon of the hidden mist. An A rank jonin wanted by Kirigakure for attempting to overthrow the Third Mizukage. Gato hired you?" Yugao made some signals behind her back which told Naruto and the others to protect Tazuna. They immediately created a formation around the old drunk.

"The 'Silent Death' Yugao Uzuki, it is an honour to meet such an esteemed swordsmen. I would exchange stories over some Sake (Alcohol), but you've got something I want." Zabuza was blunt and straight to the point. He tensed in preparation as if expecting Yugao's refusal.

"I always wanted to kill one of the 'Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist', it seems my wish will be fulfilled today." Yugao unsheathed her sword. It was a long katana lacquered black, which highlighted Yugao's preference for stealth.

Zabuza scoffed before he vanished from Naruto's eyesight, reappearing above the lake along with his sword.

" **Suiton: Kirigakure no Jutsu"**

The mist already present over the lake got thicker and soon covered Yugao and the team. Yugao knitted her eyebrows before shouting. "Be careful team, this jutsu is used by Kirigakure ninja to stealthily assassinate their enemies. You won't be able to hear him at all so bring the formation closer together. Make sure to keep Tazuna in the middle and keep a strict watch over each other."

A terrifying killing intent engulfed Naruto and the others as Zabuza's sinister chuckle carried across the mist. They had just managed to do as Yugao said but they could barely move, the killing intent was so stifling. "Nice advice, pity it won't WORK." Zabuza appeared in front of Naruto his sword swinging at Naruto's head, inches away from turning Naruto into two Narutos. But just when he smirked in victory his sword was stopped by a film of water.

" **Suiton: Suijinheki"**

The film grew quickly into a wall blocking Zabuza's attack and sending him flying back. He was just about to run deeper into the mist when he widened his eyes and turned around.

*CLANG* Yugao had caught him off guard and was showing her fierce kenjutsu prowess. *CLANG* *CLANG* *CLANG* She didn't let up on her attacks pushing Zabuza further back until he was far away from Tazuna. Naruto and the others watched in awe. 'I never knew she was that powerful', a visibly relieved Naruto thought.

Zabuza snarled in frustration, smashing his cleaver against Yugao's katana and pushing her back. 'I can't do this by myself. She's too fast and she can predict my movements. I can't beat her and the closest I can get to is a draw' He paused for a second, thinking hard before making up his mind. "Haku, take care of the kids and kill the bridge builder. I'll stall her for you."

Yugao widened her eyes before trying to run towards her team. But she was soon stopped by a large cleaver. Zabuza stood smirking with it pointed towards Yugao, "your opponent is me!" She furiously attacked Zabuza trying to end the fight quickly.

In front of Naruto a green figure in a mask coalesced. Whoever it was had long hair with a Kirigakure hunter ninja mask. She was about Sakura's height, so an inch above Naruto, and she had three senbon held in her hand.

"I don't want to kill people unnecessarily so I will give you one chance. Hand over the bridge builder." Her voice was light and gentle, which contrasted heavily with her choice of words. She tightened her grip over the senbon with her other hand rising up forming a strange seal.

Sakura glared angrily at the masked girl before shouting, "get lost or die you stupid girl." Naruto and Ryoga started, before looking at each other in bewilderment. How had the sweet and gentle Sakura they knew turned this violent? Naruto quickly recovered, unsheathing his bright silver tanto, and rushed towards Haku. She flung her senbon accurately towards Naruto's heart, brain and feet which he deflected with his tanto. She quickly went through some handseals.

" **Ice Style: Ice Saber"**

A saber made of ice appeared in her hand which she held in reverse grip. Naruto attacked Haku with as much skill and cunning as he could muster, but she was also quite skilled and fast. She accurately blocked or parried most of Naruto's attacks. Even channelling wind chakra through his tanto and extending his reach achieved nothing. The ice saber did not crack in the slightest and she always dodged successfully. After parrying a fatigued Naruto's attack towards her head she immediately counterattacked towards his heart. "I know about your wind chakra, did you think I came unprepared?"

Just as she finished her last word Naruto disappeared in front of her, replaced by a middle aged man looking like a farmer.

" **Magen: Narakumi no Jutsu"**

'Genjutsu', she thought before quickly dispelling that man. Naruto reappeared, only he had moved several meters away from her. She was just about to continue attacking when she saw the Ryoga flying through quick hand seals. 'This is bad!'

" **Doton: Doryuso** "

The earth beneath her rumbled and in response she quickly jumped up. It proved to be a smart decision as multiple earth spikes erupted from the ground and coming up to 3 feet high. If she had stayed there she would have been skewered like a kebab. Ryoga fell to the ground on his knees panting. 'That jutsu was far too difficult, I could barely complete it. It's up to you now Naruto.'

Haku was exposed and unprotected in the air and just when she was about to make a hand seal she knitted her eyebrows. Her surroundings had changed into a peaceful clearing.

" **Magen: Kokoni Arazu no Jutsu"**

Scoffing as she released the weak genjutsu she widened her eyes in shock.

" **Fuuton: Kaiten Shuriken"**

After she released the genjutsu seven shuriken had appeared that were little over a meter away from her. They were visibly encapsulated in wind making them faster and sharper than normal shuriken. Haku quickly manoeuvred her body to dodge some of them and make sure the others avoided her vital spots. However it was as if the shuriken were intelligent. They adjusted so that all seven of them still aimed towards her vital spots. Somehow the shurikens were being guided by Naruto!

Realising the hopeless situation she looked at Naruto in anguish, but he remained unmoved by her silent plea. Just when the shuriken were about to tear her to shreds a black figure appeared. As soon as it appeared it vanished, along with Haku.

"Wha-, what? What the hell just happened?" Sakura shouted in disbelief as Naruto swayed in fatigue almost collapsing.

About 100 metres away there were shadows flickering as Yugao and Zabuza's fight raged on. As if realising something Yugao stopped and moved back. There were light cuts on her body and some tears on her clothing, but nothing significant. The same couldn't be said for Zabuza, who had a huge cut running across his chest and a few other slashes on his arms and legs. There was even a semi-deep cut on his forehead. Clearly Yugao was the superior ninja.

"Haku must have killed your genin by now. Are you sure about staying and fighting me?" Zabuza grimaced before saying. He wanted Yugao to get distracted and had been trying to unsettle her for the whole time, but she was completely unruffled. He habitually released a false surroundings jutsu placed by Yugao. She had strangely been using a lot of genjutsu in their battle.

She paused for a few seconds, before speaking. "Trying to distract me, yet you're the absent minded one." For the first time she let a smirk cross her face, before making a hand seal. Zabuza tensed and tried to change his position, only to find himself frozen in place. It was to the point where he couldn't even breathe. He was completely bewildered and only after checking for a genjutsu did he realise what happened.

" **Magen: Nijū Kokoni Arazu no Jutsu"**

" **Suiton: Suiro no Jutsu"**

As soon as the genjutsu was released he found himself trapped in a water prison above the lake. He didn't even realise when he had stepped on the lake or trapped until it was too late.

For the entire battle up until now Yugao had been using minor genjutsu to distract Zabuza, but only now had she actually layered her genjutsu. Zabuza would think it was one of the routine genjutsu used by her, not realising that she had used another genjutsu as well. After all in his eyes Yugao was a kenjutsu user and not particularly proficient at genjutsu. He lost track of her position, which allowed her to quickly manoeuvre herself behind him and trap him in a water prison.

"This is the end Zabuza." She smiled triumphantly before driving her katana into the prison. But just when it was about to reach him a black figure entered the prison, grabbed him and then vanished.

Yugao tensed before quickly checking her surroundings. After a few minutes she relaxed and sighed, sheathing her katana and heading towards her team.

Sakura was tending to Naruto and Ryoga when she arrived. "How did it go?" She asked stiffly, frustrated over Zabuza's escape.

Sakura hesitated before looking at Naruto and Ryoga. They shrugged, before Naruto explained. "We really tried sensei. But just when we had her some strange guy in a black cloak appeared and carried her off." He was growling by the end of his explanation, still incensed by her sudden disappearance. Sakura also chimed in, "that guy was really fast and we barely caught a glimpse of him before he vanished. I don't understand though. If he's that fast why didn't he just kill the bridge builder from the beginning?" Ryoga also looked at Yugao curiously, his pale face indicating his exhaustion.

Sakura looked her sensei over before gasping. "Yugao-sensei just wait a second. Let me patch you up while you explain." Sakura quickly made her way to Yugao and placed her hands over one of the cuts on Yugao's body. Her hands glowed green as she scrunched up her face in concentration.

Yugao looked at Sakura in surprise before nodding with a smile. Sakura's medical ninjutsu, although quite basic, had come along quite well in the past few months. It was a far cry from when she was a fan-girl weakling.

"From what I understand that ninja was an ANBU specialising in rescue operations. He also took off with Zabuza and his speed indicated to me that he is very elite. I'm still confused as to how Gato hired him, because this kind of shinobi is very rare even in the five great villages. The reason why he didn't kill the bridge builder is because his priority is saving comrades, not killing the target. I wouldn't be surprised if he was extremely weak in a straight fight. Most escape and rescue specialists are quite weak actually." She stopped speaking and looked at Tazuna intently.

"This complicates our mission. The protocol, if the mission's difficulty increases beyond reason, is to simply abandon the client and return. In fact we should have done this when those two chunin attacked." Tazuna paled and started stuttering, "y-y-you're going to a-ab-abandon me?" He couldn't really be blamed; he was just a simple civilian and not a fighter. Yugao looked at him before glancing at her genin deep in thought. Naruto looked un-resigned and determined. He was looking as if he was begging Yugao to continue the mission. Ryoga also looked very determined. On Sakura's face there was a bit of worry which signalled her nervousness.

Eventually Yugao rubbed her head in frustration before speaking, "I reckon Gato couldn't have hired any more ninja. So we should be fine. Also Zabuza would need a lot of time to recover from his wounds, which means we have time to make some preparations. It depends on you guys though."

She looked pointedly at Sakura, waiting for her response. She knew Naruto and Ryoga would say yes, but she wanted everyone to give their opinion before continuing. As if sensing the important decision befalling on her, Sakura visibly gulped before looking hesitantly at Naruto and Ryoga. They looked at her encouragingly and Ryoga said a few words. "Whatever you decide Sakura we're 100% behind you." His voice was unusually gentle, which caused a strange expression to appear on Yugao's face.

Sakura relaxed at his words and nodded. "I think we can continue Yugao-sensei. We were able to beat that masked girl and I think we should be able to handle any problems as long as another jounin doesn't appear." She looked down in embarrassment as Yugao smiled. "Don't worry. Even Gato has his limits. Come on Tazuna, lead us to your home." Tazuna grinned as soon as he realised they were staying. "Yeah of course, follow me super ninja!"

(Location: Gato's Base of Operations)

Inside a soundproof room sat Zabuza and Haku. In front of them was the black cloaked shinobi who had saved them from Team 11. He took off his hood revealing pale blue hair and heterochromatic eyes of yellow and blue. He cut quite a diminutive figure being even shorter and thinner than Haku. Despite his underwhelming appearance Zabuza was giving him his full attention, which showed this man's importance.

"Why did she send you Hanako? I didn't think that you of all people would be following us on this mission. Does she trust me so little?" Zabuza was extremely aggressive with his words, which surprised even Haku. There was a hint of bitterness in his tone and his fists were clenched. He almost looked like a petulant child.

"I do not pretend to understand the reasoning behind _Mizukage-sama's_ decisions." He replied, emphasising Mizukage-sama and looking pointedly at Zabuza. "But she wanted me to monitor you discretely on your mission and help you if there was any life threatening situation. I think you'll agree when I say you were in such a position today."

Zabuza said nothing to refute Hanako. He knew that if it wasn't for Hanako both him and Haku would have died. "I was also assigned here because of another reason." At this Zabuza looked at Hanako sharply. Haku, who had been quiet until now, finally spoke. "Does this have to do with recent events in the village?"

Hanako glanced at Haku briefly before nodding, "indeed you are correct. After the civil war this is the first time Kirigakure has fully regained its strength. The Kirigakure chunin competition showed us some excellent talent and we're investing more on the young upcoming ninja. It is time for us to expand and develop operations beyond our sovereign borders. Nami no Kuni is a good start."

At this Haku was confused, "a start for what?"

Hanako smiled. "To monitor and spy on the Land of Fire. During the war we lost a lot of information sources. This cannot be allowed to continue and Mizukage-sama wants us to learn more about the strength Konoha wields. That's one objective." Whilst Haku as a chunin didn't know much, Zabuza was privy to a lot of information. Up until now he was unaffected by Hanako's words, but now even he was surprised. "There's another objective?"

"To form a forward base. Mizukage-sama didn't tell you because this is not strictly part of your mission, but in the light of recent events..." Hanako awkwardly looked at Zabuza whose expression had turned ugly, before sighing. "You can take this up with her. I simply follow orders."

Haku looked at her sensei warily, before changing the subject. "Hanako-sama, why Nami no Kuni in particular and what do you mean by forward base? Isn't this very aggressive from us?"

Hanako looked at Haku thankfully, before explaining. "As you know Nami no kuni is just a few miles east of the Land of Fire's east coast border. And further east from Nami no Kuni is our very own Land of Water. So it's an important geographical position for us and for Konoha. You guys were hired by Gato to kill the bridge builder, but what you don't know is that Gato himself is under the payroll of the Water Daimyo."

Ignoring the shock on Zabuza and Haku's faces he continued. "So really this is a mission whose client is the Land of Water, not a private business tycoon. What we want is for Gato to cut off all trade and communication between the Land of Fire and Nami no Kuni. Konoha will naturally approach Gato, who will agree to trade with them along with some restrictions. Because he controls all movement into and out of Nami no Kuni it will be easy for Kiri ninja and other troops to enter Nami no Kuni and build a base in secret. Gato can control immigration from other countries which allows for us to monitor for any spies that may enter the country. This is preparation in case there is conflict with Konoha in the future."

As he finished his explanation he watched Zabuza carefully, who had calmed down mid way through his explanation. "This is why the mission is so important. It is also why we must succeed, and more importantly without raising any suspicions."

Zabuza scoffed, "it's too late for that, Yugao Uzuki is not stupid. She'll figure out that Gato cannot hire a professional like you, which will lead her straight to Kirigakure. She might already have called for reinforcements."

"And that's why we will too! Another objective is to eliminate as many Konoha ninja as possible. I'm sure Mizukage-sama will be eager to send more people once she hears 'The Silent Death' is all alone and unprotected outside Konoha." He smirked, before turning around and heading outside. "Recover quickly Zabuza. Reinforcements should arrive within the week."

(Location: Tazuna's house)

There was warm food for dinner which Naruto and Ryoga were inhaling heartily. Sakura and Yugao were eating at a more sedate pace. Tazuna, a young boy and a woman called Tsunami were also eating quietly.

"Zabuza should need some time to recover, so we need to prepare quickly before he returns. Sakura." She looked at Sakura.

"Yes, Yugao-sensei?" Sakura made eye contact with Yugao, who replied "I will teach you a new genjutsu that might just make the difference. It's a bit difficult so I need you to give it your all."

She nodded determinedly with a serious expression on her face. She understood the severity of their situation. Yugao moved her gaze to Ryoga. "As for you Ryoga I can't get you any extra jutsu, but your control over your Doton jutsu needs work. You can't just collapse after one jutsu, stamina is imperative for prolonged battles. I can help you with that." Ryoga nodded quietly.

Finally Yugao looked at Naruto. "Your Kenjutsu is terrible." Naruto's face dropped as he became downcast. Sakura giggled and Ryoga smirked. 'Yugao-sensei is so ruthless with him' Sakura thought in amusement. Yugao also inwardly smirked, before consoling him. "That's why I'm going to improve it over the next few days. I want you to be able to beat that girl purely through kenjutsu. My student cannot lose to another at Kenjutsu, since that would shame me as your teacher." There was a tinge of arrogance in her voice, which had Naruto all pumped up. They all laughed in amusement and started chatting about random things.

"You're all just running to your deaths." It was at this moment the young boy sitting at the dinner table spoke up. He was glaring at Team 11 and clenching his fists. "Gato is too strong. None of you can do anything. Just give up and leave us alone."

Tsunami looked shocked at his words. "That's enough Inari. They're here to help. You can't just say that." Inari didn't reply, but was still glaring at them. Naruto had not said anything before, but now he had reached the limits of his patience.

"If you think we're going to lose why don't you just run away like the coward you are?" For Naruto the words came out very easily and even his tone was normal. It was as if he was commenting about something trivial like the weather. "Naruto!" Yugao rebuked, looking at him pointedly to shut him up. But Naruto hadn't finished. "Come on sensei, we know better than anyone about living hard lives. We fight and endure in order to succeed, if we just gave up like him would we achieve anything at Konoha?" At this Naruto's expression darkened. He remembered all the times Wulin, Sasuke and Kiba picked on him because of his background and lack of strength. The only reason they were so strong was because they had specialised tutors teaching them from birth. Where was the fairness in that?

Ryoga nodded seriously, before backing him up. "Yeah I agree with Naruto. Look at the team placements if you want to see the discrimination. They just sidelined our team along with sensei, but they made a team with the top three clan children on purpose to push them forward. There is no fairness in Konoha."

"SO THAT'S MY POINT. JUST GIVE UP THEN!" Inari exploded in anger, before storming up the stairs and leaving.

None of the genin, or Yugao for that matter, looked happy with Inari's words. Tsunami and Tazuna could sense the atmosphere and explained how Kaiza had once saved Inari's life. When they talked about Gato killing Kaiza so brutally in front of the villagers Naruto got up in agitation.

"What happened Naruto?" Sakura asked, scared that Naruto might do something stupid. "I just need to blow off some steam." He muttered and then promptly left.

(Location: Kirigakure)

An island surrounded by mist and in its centre a magnificent metropolis. It was inferior to Konoha in terms of size and people, but had its unique charm with the numerous canals and boats that transported people daily. At the centre of the village was a modern looking building with many glass windows and fancy floors. It wasn't particularly tall but still exuded a sense of majesty.

Inside the building's office stood a tall woman, who was overlooking the village from her window. Long and lustrous red hair framed an angelic face, which was knitted as if in deep thought. During this time a man with an eye-patch and long seals tied to his ears stood behind her. His hands behind his back he stood in a stiff military posture.

"So Zabuza is ok, that's good to know." She sighed in relief. "I knew it was a good idea to keep Hanako around him. He's way too stubborn for his own good." The man behind her twitched slightly, but in the end said nothing. "As for this 'Silent Death', why don't we honour her namesake and silence her? Permanently." Although it was phrased like a question, her murderous killing intent and tone signalled otherwise.

"Yes Mizukage-sama I agree. This will also allow Gato Shipping Corporation to take control of Nami no Kuni, which gives us a forward base of operations against Konoha." The women nodded absent-mindedly, still lost in thought, before continuing. "The nearest team to Nami no Kuni?"

"All teams are currently deep within our territory and the only ones outside the Land of Water are in the north towards the Land of Lightning. This is because of the Raikage's aggressive movements against us. They have to stay there in order to protect against any small attacks. So any back-up could only come from here or from one of the orbiting teams near the western coast. But due to the long distance they would only arrive on the final day of the bridge's construction."

She let out a huff in exasperation. "Zabuza won't wait that long. He's much too impatient for that. Send a letter back to Hanako ordering him to keep Zabuza under control."

The man suddenly looked hesitant, before softly speaking. "If you want you can visit him personally Mizukage-sama. Otherwise you can force him to return, since it has been 3 years since he came to Kirigakure. I can handle everything here in your absence." The woman started, looking at him in surprise before shaking her head.

"I'm the Mizukage, I can't just leave the village for personal reasons. Although I've solidified my position there are still a few councillors and ninja I need to handle. They might flare up and act if I leave prematurely. If he's too stubborn to return then it's his loss." Although her words were tough her tone was weak and bitter. She clearly didn't feel the same way as her words suggested. The man sighed in response, before reluctantly speaking again.

"If that's the case then why don't I just go Mei-sama? With my Byakugan it would be simpler and I'm sure I can get there in time. As for any other shinobi there is a chunin team nearby that can help. Perhaps we can put more pressure on Yugao Uzuki by holding her genin hostage?" Mei looked visibly relieved by his words, finally allowing a smile to cross her face.

"Very well then, please go quickly Ao."

(7 days later - Location: Tazuna's house)

"I was worried Zabuza might attack in the last few days, but fortunately he didn't. Okay let's get ready team because this is the final day of construction. Gato will definitely act today which means Zabuza will return, maybe even with backup." Yugao had put on the battle armour from her ANBU days, which the genin were seeing for the first time. Her long purple hair was tied into a ponytail instead of its usual free look.

Naruto was the same as ever, with his green shirt and black shorts, his red hair shining in the morning mist with a sword slung across his back. Sakura had cut her hair so that it was slightly below her shoulders. She also sported some new black gloves that looked quite trendy. Ryoga was perhaps the most plain wearing a normal brown shirt and black shorts. In fact if it wasn't for his forehead protector and kunai pouch he'd look like a normal civilian.

Tazuna looked a little amused. "You guys sure are a colourful group of ninja. Purple, red, pink and brown. Are all shinobi teams this flashy?"

Team 11, Yugao included, looked quite abashed at his words. It was Naruto who finally grinned. "No, it's just us. Why? Because we're the best!" Everyone started laughing. Inari was looking at them with a conflicted expression. In his hand he clenched a picture, one of him and a young man that smiled just like Naruto.

"Sensei, I've added the security measures in case anything happens to them." Naruto approached Yugao and reported. She nodded and looked at Naruto curiously. "Where did you learn about fuinjutsu Naruto? I only know a bit because of my sensei and even then its the absolute basics." Naruto simply tapped his nose and grinned naughtily. "Secret!" Yugao shook her head in exasperation, before waving her arm.

"Move out team!" Yugao ordered as they set out with Tazuna.

(Location: Middle of the sea, exact location unknown)

It was a very weird sight. After all it wasn't everyday you saw a man standing on top of the water in the middle of the ocean. His hair was multicoloured and his cloths very formal with a red button up shirt and long trousers. Perhaps the most striking part of his appearance was his eyes. They looked like bright rubies, shining with splendour and radiance. On the back of his shirt was a blue spiral symbol.

The short and somewhat thin man looked bewildered, scratching his head in confusion. As he was standing on top of the water he frowned in deep thought, muttering in frustration.

"So, where was Nami no Kuni again?"

Suiton: Kirigakure no Jutsu = Water Style: Hiding in Mist Technique

Suiton: Suijinheki = Water Style: Water Wall

Doton: Doryuso = Earth Style: Falling Earth Spears.

Fuuton: Kaiten Shuriken = Wind Style: Rotating Shuriken

 **A/N: So next chapter is the climax and conclusion of this wave arc! This is still the developmental phase for Team 11 and it will take some time before the set the world on fire! Going on holiday to the US tomorrow so not sure when I'll update next. Maybe within a week if I get time? I might write a bit on the flight. TangSan98 out.**


	4. Chapter 4 - The Fire Master Appears

**A/N:** **Sorry for the late update guys. I've been in the US for 10 days and only had a phone. Not very easy to write, although I did get 100% of the story written with many errors. Edited it this morning.**

 **Things are heating up in the Land of Waves! I'm getting closer and closer to Naruto's background and the true beginning of this story. In essence the stuff here is the introduction. I've already planned out the next parts and I am really excited!**

 **Hope you enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. It would be fun if I did though.**

 **Chapter 4 – The Fire Master**

(Location: Nami no Kuni – Team 11)

Garbed in full battle gear Team 11 looked like a small war party as they escorted Tazuna, along with some of his more skilled workers, to the bridge. Everyone in the village had hidden inside their houses, which made the place look like a ghost town. Seeing this, Sakura started to look more nervous.

"Ryoga?" He was on her right, with Naruto taking point and Yugao bringing up the rear. "Yeah Sakura, what is it?" She glanced around anxiously before asking, "Are we going to be okay? What if another jounin comes with Zabuza? Shouldn't we have called for back-up?"

He looked surprised by her words. Wasn't it a bit late to point that out? "Come on Sakura we're all strong now! Look at how much we've grown ever since we became genin. We easily took out that Haku girl and Yugao sensei is really strong. Also Yugao-sensei said that Gato shouldn't have hired any more powerful ninja. That's because typically rogue ninja don't work well together, unless they're part of a village which is impossible." Ryoga looked very earnest with his explanation, and Sakura looked a bit mollified. But he could still see a slight bit of fear in her eyes. He smiled warmly before adding, "Whatever it is, I promise I'll protect you."

That caught her by surprise, along with Yugao who was discretely listening in. She widened her eyes, before looking away with a light blush on her face. "Let's just concentrate on watching for any attacks." She muttered, looking for a distraction. She got one in the form of Naruto, who was twitching every few seconds and looking around nervously. _Thankfully I'm not the only nervous one,_ she thought wryly before calling out to him. "Naruto. Naruto! Calm down, you don't need to jump around like a retarded squirrel." He stopped moving after hearing that, glaring at her reproachfully.

"It's called being alert." He justified, feeling indignant about being insulted so openly in front of the bridge builders. He quickly looked at Ryoga, "Back me up Ryoga. Tell her about how much of a control freak she is." He beseeched Ryoga who smirked. "The reason she said that is because you act like a child Naruto. If you learned not to act like an idiot maybe Yakumo would actually like you."

Naruto looked betrayed by Ryoga's words. He saw Sakura, who had her mouth wide open in shock, before blushing and turning towards the front. "Not cool Ryoga, you weren't supposed to tell anyone." He pouted.

The workers chuckled, the conversation lightening up the mood. Yugao also smiled, before looking ahead with narrowed eyes. The group had already reached the coastline and the bridge was just ahead. She could make out some mist just ahead of them.

"Come out Zabuza, a cheap trick like that won't fool me." She jumped ahead of the team with katana in hand. Naruto, Ryoga and Sakura also got ready with Naruto holding his tanto and the other two walking up next to him. Any signs of the laughter from before thoroughly extinguished.

Just 100m ahead of them six people walked out. Seeing them Yugao pursed her lips. _Things just got a lot more difficult._ Judging from their uniforms and general appearance, asides from Zabuza and Haku, one of them was a jounin and the other three were chunin. Each of them had a Kirigakure headband. After seeing this Yugao looked at Zabuza in shock.

"So this entire time you were not a rogue ninja? You're still a registered ninja from Kirigakure?" Suddenly so many things made sense. How that specialist ninja saved them just as Team 11 was about to win. _He wasn't hired by Gato, but was from Kirigakure all along. This means - ._

She narrowed her eyes at Zabuza. "It seems your goal isn't as simple as killing a mere bridge builder. What are you hiding?" Zabuza didn't seem very surprised, he simply ignored her question. "You're very perceptive Yugao Uzuki. Unfortunately you won't be able to tell Konoha anything. In fact, my Kubikiribōchō is about to relieve you of your head." He chuckled darkly and lifted his cleaver.

Yugao scoffed, "We'll see about that." She lifted her arm and signalled team 11. "Naruto you will fight the hunter ninja girl. Ryoga and Sakura will fight the other three chunin. I'll take on the two jounin." Everyone nodded and immediately moved towards their respective targets. Naruto placed some pieces of paper on the ground around Tazuna and his friends, after which he ran towards Haku.

Haku had already finished going through some hand seals.

" **Ice Release: Ice Saber"**

An ice saber and tanto clashed as Naruto and Haku fought above the bridge. This time Naruto was a bit more skilled, ensuring he didn't overstretch on any of his strikes. This made the scales tip in his favour

He struck Haku's head at a tricky angle which was blocked at the last moment. Despite the block there was still a light cut on Haku's face, with blood trickling down. Over the next few minutes Naruto managed to cut Haku's shoulders, legs and chest. There was a gash running down her kimono. But Naruto was also hit a few times on his left shoulder, which left it looking like a mangled mess.

"You've improved. I have to admit your speed is impressive." She complimented, wiping the blood off her face. "Thanks, but the real compliment should go to you. I didn't know you were from the vaunted Yuki clan in Kirigakure, but then again you do have their Hyouton Kekkei Genkai." She didn't look surprised by his information and started moving through hand seals very quickly. "You did some research on me? It won't help you."

The amount of chakra she was using surprised even Naruto, who quickly jumped back before going through some hand seals of his own.

" **Suiton: Sensatsu Suisho"**

All around Naruto a large number of water needles formed in mid air. It must have been the mist that Haku used since there were so many needles. It was impossible to run or jump anywhere because they had formed a huge dome around him. "Go!" Haku shouted as the needles all hurtled towards Naruto. Just as they were poised to stab him, he finished his final seal.

He breathed in deeply and then violently exhaled.

" **Fuuton: Daitoppa"**

A huge blast of air blew away all the needles. Some of the needles flew in Haku's direction which she skilfully deflected or dodged.

Naruto didn't waste a single second as he rushed towards Haku. _She's too dangerous, I can't give her time to release more jutsu._ He readied his tanto and moved in an unusual rhythm. Haku immediately noticed the strange nature of his attack and flashed through multiple hand seals.

" **Leaf Sword Style: Dance of the windy moon"**

Naruto moved his sword in a full circle as he rushed towards Haku, creating the illusion that he had multiple swords. She felt a tremendous sense of danger and clapped her hands together.

" **Ice Style: Ice Dome"**

A metre thick ice wall formed around Haku, but Naruto was unfazed. His sword, even before reaching the dome, had already started to cut into the ice. He swung his sword in a full arc, cutting cleanly through the ice.

"ARRGHHHHH." There was a deafening scream, clearly coming from Haku inside the dome. The ice quickly crumbled showing Haku bleeding heavily with a deep cut on her left shoulder.

Haku had frozen in disbelief. She knew that Naruto's wind chakra was strong, but she had no idea that he could combine it with his Kenjutsu to cut through a metre of ice. Even after cutting through the ice he was able to cut her so deeply, if she hadn't have moved at the last moment her left arm would have been cut off. She was caught completely off guard.

After analysing her injury Naruto stopped attacking. He looked at her cut with a slight wince and tried to dissauade her. "Just surrender, I know you can barely move that shoulder. How are you going to fight me with just one arm?" She glared at him furiously, "Don't underestimate me Konoha scum." She then moved her right arm across the cut, and before Naruto's very eyes, froze her wound.

'Damn it, if I knew she could do that I wouldn't have stopped.' Naruto thought in irritation as he stared at Haku's handiwork. 'This is what I get for showing mercy.'

Haku grimaced at the pain before looking at Naruto with a cold glint in her eyes. Raising her left shoulder she flew through multiple hand-seals. Her speed was twice as fast compared to before and Naruto could tell that whatever jutsu she was using, it was definitely a big one. He rushed towards Haku and tried to interrupt her, but before he could even reach her she finished her final hand seal. Smirking at Naruto triumphantly she released the jutsu.

" **Ice release: Demonic Ice Mirrors"**

Numerous mirrors slowly formed around them and before Naruto could reach her Haku vanished. Seeing each mirror have its own reflection of Haku he paled. 'Oh, crap'.

==Ryoga and Sakura==

"Sakura, I'll take point. You back me up alright?" Ryoga nudged Sakura, who nodded with a solemn look on her face. She knew the three chunin in front of them would be no pushovers. The fact that they were from Kirigakure further increased her vigilance.

The three chunin similarly looked tense. The one in the middle stepped forward. He had bright yellow hair and was the tallest of the three. He started commanding the others. "Niji, prepare your ninjutsu for Plan C. Yonji, you'll provide tactical support. I'll fight the boy." The other two nodded with the one on the left forming hand seals and the other readying a kunai.

Ryoga and the yellow haired man ran towards each other, eventually meeting in the middle with a flurry of punches and kicks. Despite Ryoga's specialisation in ninjutsu he still gave a lot of time to his taijutsu, which showed with his speed and power. However his opponent had a strange fighting style. Instead of using his hands to fight he was solely fighting with his legs. Even with blocking Ryoga's punches he would use his legs.

Ryoga quickly flicked several shuriken towards the man's upper body before aiming a low kick towards his legs. In response the yellow haired man ducked before winding up his leg in a circle. Just before Ryoga reached him he attacked.

" **Collier Shot"**

The momentum created by the winded up kick was immense, and the collision sent Ryoga flying back. This created a 50 metre gap between the kirigakure ninja and team 11's duo. Grimacing in pain Ryoga held his throbbing right leg and shouted at the yellow haired man. "Are your legs made of steel or something?"

His opponent's two teammates smirked before the one on the left bragged "Brother Sanji has the strongest kicking taijjutsu style in the elemental nations. There's no way you'll be able to beat him in a straight up taijutsu battle." He laughed before finishing his hand seals and leaning forward.

" **Katon: Goukakyu no Jutsu"**

He opened his mouth and a huge fireball was released. It headed straight towards Ryoga but before it was anywhere near him Ryoga released his jutsu.

" **Doton: Doroku Gaeshi"**

A metre thick wall appeared before Ryoga and Sakura. The fireball hit the earth wall, creating a huge explosion as it destroyed the earth wall. The fireball was also extinguished in the process and Ryoga quickly grabbed Sakura. "Move quickly!"

Ryoga's words almost proved prophetic as a leg burst from the ground just below the place Sakura was standing previously. Sakura snarled in anger and went through several hand seals.

" **Magen: Narakumi no Jutsu"**

Sanji, who had just burst from the ground, looked around in confusion as his surroundings turned into darkness. It was only for a split second after which he was in a jail with a metal mask over his face. He started in shock before formed a hand sign. "Kai."

Meanwhile Ryoga had reached Sanji and was about to stab him when he was blocked by the third chunin, Yonji. Ryoga looked at him in shock before mentally chastising himself. _I can't believe I forgot about him._

" **Magen: Kokoni Arazu no Jutsu"**

Ryoga's error didn't stop Sakura as she unleashed a genjutsu on Yonji. He stilled for a split second but before Ryoga could capitalise on the opportunity Yonji recovered. "I'm the genjutsu specialist, you picked the wrong target pinky." She scowled in response as Ryoga retreated. Sanji had already recovered and reached them. Niji had also made his way over, this time his expression a lot more serious.

"These guys are no pushovers." Ryoga looked at Sakura before explaining. She glared, as if to reproach him for complimenting their opponents. "But I have a plan. As long as none of them have some special trick up their sleeve we should be fine." Sakura nodded before replying, "I'm all ears."

(Location: Tazuna's House)

Inari and Tsunami had stayed home as per Yugao and Tazuna's instructions. Apparently they were completely safe as long as they remained within the kitchen. Inari picked at his food glumly as he looked at Tsunami, "Do you think they'll be able to defeat Gato?" Tsunami, who had been washing the dishes, paused.

"I have faith in them, and in my father. I'm sure they'll give it their all. After all, that's a team from Konohagakure!" Tsunami turned around, trying to assuage Inari's fears with her smile, but when Inari didn't smile back she knew she hadn't really succeeded. "Well, all we can do is wait and hope for the best." She couldn't really try to convince Inari earnestly when even she was fearful about what would happen.

"GET OUT HERE RIGHT NOW!." A gruff voice shouted from outside the house. Tsunami gasped and quickly grabbed Inari. They opened up one of the floorboards and jumped into the basement. Just as she replaced the floorboard the front door was kicked open. There were two mercenaries that looked like wannabe samurai, but even weak people like them could kill Inari and Tsunami.

"We know you're here. Did you think Gato would forget about you? Now I can promise that we're only here to capture you. It's just Tazuna that needs to die. Well? Coming out?" There was no response. Tsunami had put her hand over Inari's mouth and had held her breath. _What a joke, they don't want to kill us? Tell that to the countless corpses Gato's thugs have carved up._

The two of them started exploring the house, kicking down doors and breaking the furniture like typical thugs. But just as they reached the kitchen, an innocuous piece of paper on the floor lit up.

*BUZZ*. The kitchen lit up like a Christmas tree, with the piece of paper electrocuting both men until their skin turned black. "ARRGHHH." They both collapsed, twitching for a few minutes before finally becoming motionless. A few minutes later the floorboard was lifted up by Tsunami, who screamed after seeing the black corpses. "That's what he meant by 'mild' security measures?"

They both left the basement and re-entered the kitchen. After seeing the corpses Inari looked a lot more solemn and determined. "Mum, I need to do something about this. This is our village, how can we just sit here and do nothing?" Not waiting for her answer he ran out of the house.

"INARI! WHERE ARE YOU GOING? INARI!"

(Location: Nami no Kuni Incomplete Bridge)

==Yugao==

Yugao was in deep shit. She really was. How else could she describe being ganged up on by two elite jounin? What's worse was that they had tailored their strategy towards her, and she didn't even know anything about the other jounin. She was completely unprepared!

'What a great C rank mission. So much fun fighting ELITE JOUNIN! They truly increased the difficulty of C ranks. Congratulations are in order Hokage-sama!' Yugao ranted to herself sarcastically. She had multiple cuts and bruises on her body. Her sword was nowhere to be found, having been kicked away from her a while ago. The only positive was that she had cut the unknown jounin's arms off. In fact that was just before he screamed in agony and kicked away her sword. 'Fun times.' She thought wryly, before dodging a sword strike from Zabuza.

Around her was extremely dense mist, which somewhat limited her combat capabilities. However for specialists like Zabuza and his friend it was like their back garden.

"Now I get it, the reason why you're still able to find us despite the mist." Zabuza's voice permeated all around Yugao, making it impossible to find his location. "You have some kind of jutsu that allows you to sense chakra signatures. Am I Right?" Yugao shifted slightly, making rapid calculations in her head.

"But it has a very limited range, and it requires you to actively use chakra. That's why there are times you cannot track my location. I must admit it's an ingenious technique. You are truly worthy of your reputation Yugao Uzuki." Yugao had finished calculating. She ran through multiple hand seals before ending with the Dragon seal.

"Knowing about it won't help you Zabuza. And do you think I'll be fooled by your friend if you try to distract me?" As soon as she finished the last word her head was cut off by the other jounin's kunai, but the blood quickly turned into water.

"Ichiji watch out!" Zabuza shouted in alarm, but by then it was too late.

" **Water Style: Water Dragon Technique"**

A dragon made of water suddenly appeared from inside the mist. It was so fast and sudden that Ichiji had no time to dodge. If he had two hands maybe he could have formed a defensive jutsu but he only had one. All he could do was curl into a ball and brace for impact.

The dragon smashed into Ichiji and he screamed in agony, before being unceremoniously blasted out of the bridge. "ICHIJI!" He ran in anger towards Yugao, who was still on the move. She saw Zabuza behind her and shivered. With the murderous intent he was releasing he truly looked like a demon. She ran for half a minute before forming a strange hand seal that looked like a cross.

' **Kage Bunshin No Jutsu'**

All of a sudden there were two Yugaos. Zabuza looked on dumbfounded, 'Is that a solid clone?' His question was answered as one of the Yugaos rushed towards him with a kunai and the other one disappeared into the mist.

Zabuza harrumphed before attacking Yugao, it only took a minute before the clone was gone. As soon as it was gone, Zabuza felt his hair rise. 'Danger!'

" **Leaf Style: Dance of the Crescent Moon"**

Three Yugaos jumped out from the mist, each one holding a black katana. 'She found her sword. How? I threw it into the river!' He didn't have any time for answers as they attacked him separately on three fronts. Zabuza tried to figure out how to dodge and parry all their strikes, but couldn't find a way and simply hid behind his Kubikiribōchō.

*SLASH*. The cleaver had managed to block only one of the three strikes. The other two struck him as one sword stabbed into his lungs and the other through one of his legs.

*THUMP* Zabuza coughed out blood, his knees hitting the floor with a desolate expression on his face.

The two clones vanished into puffs of smoke, along with their swords. As Zabuza coughed up even more blood Yugao approached him, Katana poised to end him once and for all.

"Goodbye, demon of the mist." Her sword was inches away from his neck when a man suddenly appeared next to her. She barely caught a glimpse of him before she was brutally kicked away. "AHH." She fell back a huge distance before balancing herself, holding her chest in mild pain.

She looked across the bridge, only to find a man with Ichiji in his arms. He had spiky silver hair, with an eyepatch.

(Location: Nami no Kuni Village)

A huge number of villagers had gathered at the main entrance. Just a short distance away from the entrance was the incomplete bridge. At the front was young Inari, who had fashioned himself with a small stick and some makeshift metal armor.

"We can't just let Konoha handle everything. For so long we have remained oppressed by that tyrant Gato, it is time to fight back for our freedom!" As a kid, Inari wasn't particularly eloquent, but he still got the point across. All the villagers cheered, with even the women and children showing up with makeshift weapons.

"And just where do you think you're going kid?" Inari was suddenly lifted up. He struggled and shouted "Get your hands off me you fuc-". He stopped when he saw the Kirigakure forehead protector on the ninja's person. He also saw two women behind the man, also wearing the same gear.

Of course, none of the villagers knew that the three ninja were all wearing Jounin flak-jackets. Well, almost none of them. The sole exception was Inari, who had seen Yugao and knew what her flak-jacket meant. "J-j-j-jounin." He stuttered in fear. The man started before giving him a surprised look, "So you know about our uniform huh? Well, good for us I guess. Since you know about our strength I don't need to make examples, we're taking you all hostage. If you try anything funny you die."

The villagers let out sounds of fear and dissent, but just when Inari grit his teeth and opened his mouth a chilling voice sounded out all around them.

"Taking civilian hostages? What an admirable move by Kirigakure. However, did you ask for my permission?"

(Location: Nami No Kuni Incomplete Bridge)

==Naruto==

 _Hedgehogs. What beautiful creatures, their bodies full of spikes for protection. But what would it feel if, instead of being born with the spikes, they had the spikes forcefully inserted? I'm sure Hedgehogs would enjoy the feeling, just like I do._ Having a sarcastic monologue when fighting Haku was useless during the fight, but boy did it help him vent.

 _However, this fight is just about over._ He smirked, catching Haku's attention.

"I have to commend you, Konoha ninja. You are able to prevent me from hitting any of your vital points. But you can't break this jutsu unless I run out of chakra." Haku had stopped, each of her reflections all gripping multiple senbon needles in their hands.

Naruto coughed out some blood, before pulling out a few senbon near his arms. He looked around himself carefully, narrowing his eyes at certain points. Haku didn't really do anything, she had plenty of chakra and wasting a few seconds to hurt his morale was a good deal. Naruto nodded to himself, before looking at a particular mirror above him. "If I was a normal ninja then yes, you would definitely win. But I'm not normal. I'm NARUTO."

*BOOM*. A massive explosion rocked the entire bridge as small black markings on the ground near each mirror exploded. Naruto launched off the ground towards the top few mirrors, in the air his route was pre-determined and he had no way of dodging any attack. Haku couldn't move to any of the lower mirrors so she picked a high one behind Naruto and rushed towards his blind spot..

 _Just as I expected_. Using the explosions he had reduced the angles Haku could attack him from. This time Haku was clearly going for the kill, her senbon poised to cut Naruto's neck. It was at this moment Naruto suddenly outstretched his arms in opposite directions. There was a piece of paper on each hand and the one pointed away from Haku glowed. A burst of air flowed out of the seal, which propelled Naruto in Haku's direction.

 _Oh no!_ Haku tried to dodge and enter the mirrors, but Naruto had already reached Haku. She gritted her teeth and aimed towards Naruto's neck. However at the last moment Naruto adjusted his position so that Haku was hitting his shoulder. His palm, which had the sealing paper on it, hit Haku's stomach.

*PUCHI*. A steady stream of blood fell from Naruto's shoulder, but on the other side Haku had stopped moving. She was panicking and kept trying to shout out, with no success.

Naruto pulled out the senbon and quickly bandaged his shoulder. He looked at Haku before explaining. "It's called the Paralysis seal, and it won't let you move at all for the next 5 minutes." Haku was motionless and gave no response to his explanation. Naruto reached Haku and tied her up with ninja wire, after which he immediately ran towards his teammates.

He quickly noticed, however, the mist becoming thinner and disappearing. Soon Naruto could see everyone on the bridge, including Ryoga and Sakura. They had reached a stalemate with the chunin squad, which was impressive given the difference in numbers. He grinned and they nodded back. The chunin team was dumbfounded at Haku's motionless body.

Naruto smirked and was just about to make them surrender, but he was interrupted by a voice.

"Konoha ninja lay down your weapons. If you refuse I will kill your Jonin squad leader." Sakura gasped before shouting, "YUGAO-SENSEI!" Naruto and Ryoga froze in shock, having no idea on what to do. In front of them a man with an eye patch, who had Yugao tied up at his feet. Next to him was the one armed Ichiji helping a bandaged Zabuza.

Zabuza looked across the bridge casually, but when his eyes fell on Haku's prone form he widened his eyes. "HAKU!" Naruto, noticing this, had a brainwave. He held a kunai to Haku's neck. "If you kill Yugao-sensei, I'll kill this girl. A Kekkei Genkai is precious even in Kirigakure, right?

Unlike Zabuza, who was emanating demonic killing intent, the eyepatch wearing man was quite tranquil. He gave Naruto an amused look, before replying. "My name is Ao, the right hand man of the Godaime Mizukage. This mission is far more important than the life of a small chunin, no matter how talented she is. You are a simple genin, I could kill you with a snap of my fingers. And right now I'm holding your sensei hostage, who is a famous ANBU Captain. Nice try kid, but you have no cards to play here."

Naruto trembled in fear, before lowering the shaking kunai from Haku. Just when he was about to surrender, Ao tensed and pulled out a kunai. A split second later he was sent flying down the bridge. Taking his place was a man with multi-coloured flaming hair, his flaming fists outstretched.

Ichiji reacted immediately, throwing some shuriken and aiming a kunai at the man's skull. In response the man pointed a finger at him.

" **Flame Spear"**

From his finger a large spear of fire coalesced. It stretched longer and blocked all the weapons eventually stabbing through Ichiji's heart. He vomited blood, before collapsing with his eyes completely blank.

Seeing this, Ao growled angrily. "Who are you? Why are you interfering with Kirigakure business? For killing a Kirigakure jounin you will be chased to the ends of the earth!" The man only smirked in reply, looking amused by Ao's threat. He waved his arms and on the bridge appeared three more bodies, each one having a Kirigaakure headband.

"So, now can we talk terms?"

Fuuton: Daitoppa = Wind Style: Great Breakthrough

Katon: Goukakyu no Jutsu = Fire Style: Grand Fireball Technique

Doton: Doroku Gaeshi = Earth Style: Terra Shield

Kage Bunshin No Jutsu = Shadow Clone Jutsu


	5. Chapter 5 - Princess Miho

**A/N: This title will probably confuse you guys, but the chapter is quite long and a lot happens. This is really where the story starts to kick off. Remember this: There are always reasons behind every person's actions, that is my modus operandi. Hopefully you'll like it!**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, I wonder if you could buy its 'ownership' from Kishimoto? How many billions of yen would that be, if possible?**

 **Chapter 5 – Princess Miho**

"So, now can we talk terms?"

Ao's face was pale, his fists clenched in anger. An unknown ninja had not only killed Ichiji effortlessly, but also captured 3 jounin serving under Ao. _Who is this guy? There's no way a ninja of his strength is simply unknown in the world._ And yet here he was. Ao had full access to all intelligence reports in Kiri, which had been memorised of course, but he could still not recognise the ninja in front of him.

"Who are you? Are you from Konoha?" Ao ventured, clearly digging for information. The Fire Master did not reply, choosing to move his hand closer towards the neck of the unconscious Kirigakure ninja.

"One inch closer and I kill this woman!" Ao threatened, holding a kunai against Yugao's throat. Naruto and the others gasped, "No, don't!" That finally elicited a response, "How about a trade. The woman for your three underlings." He had moved away from the Kiri ninja, showing goodwill. Ao contemplated the offer for a minute, amongst nervous gazes from Team 11, before shaking his head. "Not possible, my mission is unfortunately more important than these ninja." The blood drained from Naruto's face. _Does that mean he'll kill Yugao-sensei?_ Sakura whimpered and Ryoga looked close to tears, they were 12 years old for crying out loud.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you, especially given that right eye of yours." If the last offer shocked Ao, this one turned his world upside down. "How do you know about it?" He growled, but he had stopped any further movement, indicative of his agreement.

The Fire Master smirked, looking very casual and unconcerned, and replied unhurriedly. "The Hyuga clan may not be as strong as the Uchiha, but they have significant political pull in Konoha. If Konoha threatens war, are you sure the Mizukage won't sacrifice you, given the recent civil war and casualties?"

Ao had remained motionless and unresponsive for some time, and only after a few minutes did he finally let go of Yugao. He stepped back several feet and stared at the Fire Master, to wait for his response. Sakura tried to run towards Yugao, but was held back by Ryoga. "Not now Sakura, we don't know what will happen next."She struggled a bit, before becoming quiet.

The Fire Master maintained his amiable demeanour, kicking the three ninja towards Ao and pulling Yugao over at the same time. Just like that, in front of a dumbfounded Team 11 and Tazuna, the exchange was over. "Many thanks. You can leave now Kiri ninja, next time hope that your luck turns out better and you don't run into me." He chuckled a bit, and saw Ao's unamused face. "Unless you want to fight?"

Another tension filled silence, after which Ao shook his head. He picked up his teammates, Zabuza and Haku and then left. "I'll remember you."

A few minutes after Ao left, the Fire Master turned towards Team 11 and the bridge builders, who visibly gulped in fear. The only exception was Naruto, who felt at ease for some reason. The Fire Master walked towards Naruto, and was quickly blocked by Ryoga and Sakura. They blinked and he was gone, suddenly appearing in front of Naruto. Contrary to their fears, he simply patted Naruto's shoulder, "You're a strong boy, to have thought of using the girl as a hostage." Naruto felt his shoulder heat up slightly, where the man had patted him, but the feeling was gone as fast as it came. Everyone else had also relaxed.

"Count yourselves lucky that I was nearby and willing to help, otherwise you would all be dead. I also disposed of Gato and his operation a few hours ago, it seems he has a knack for offending powerful people." He barked out a laugh as Naruto and the others joined in nervously. "The man you met was the chief of staff in Kirigakure."

They all nodded in awe, only team 11 understood how high ranked that position was. In Konoha it was held by Shikaku Nara, the foremost strategist in Kirigakure, who was an exceptionally smart shinobi. _And Shikamaru's father, though he never talks about it._

"Look, it's the rest of the village." He stated, and pointed behind them. They all turned around to see an army of civilians holding up pikes and butcher knives. Naruto turned back towards the Fire Master, only to see the bridge and no-one else! "He disappeared!" Naruto exclaimed.

"Really? Maybe he's some secret spy or something?" Ryoga asked, quite shocked and confused about what happened. Sakura was still held in his arms, but surprisingly not complaining about it. Naruto looked at them strangely, until they noticed their position and jumped away like frightened squirrels.

 _Cute._ Naruto inwardly laughed. He looked at the glowing sunshine before sighing. _Finally, it's all over._

(Location: Mindscape)

With all the partying, the rest of the day passed by quickly. The bridge was completed and they were simply sleeping for the night before leaving early morning.

Once again, Naruto appeared in his mindscape, only this time he was _outside_ the pagoda, not inside it on the 7th floor. Perhaps the most surprising aspect was the new resident, a man with flaming multicoloured hair who Naruto had met earlier that day.

"WHAT? How did you get here?" Naruto jumped in shock. The man laughed, "Easy there, why don't you calm down and let me explain? If you know this place you must know about our village and the Uzumaki Clan?" Naruto froze, his mouth wide open in shock, then walked up to the man. "You're an Uzumaki? Like me?"

"Yes my name is Ace, and I am known as the Fire Mas –"

"YOURE ONE OF THE 9 MASTERS? THAT'S AWESOME!" Naruto interrupted Ace, screaming into the man's ears. He winced, rubbing his head, and then slapped Naruto around the head. "OWWWW."

"No interrupting squirt. Now, like I said I am the Fire Master. Normally initiation happens in the village –"

"WE HAVE A VILLAGE? HOW DID – OWWWWW" Naruto rubbed his head again, and looked pitifully at the smug faced Ace. "What did I say about interrupting? I'm only allowed to tell you a little bit for security reasons. Needless to say you can't tell anyone, including your friends, about this. Understand?" Naruto nodded repeatedly, looking like a kicked puppy.

Ace sighed in relief. "Moving on, we have a custom known as bloodline initiation. Normally bloodlines activate automatically, but in some rare cases they may require an activation technique." Here he discretely looked at the pagoda.

"So tell me, what is the bloodline? What is my bloodline ability?" Naruto looked like a hyperactive 5 year old, jumping around like he won the lottery. Ace groaned, rubbing his temples. He analysed Naruto a little bit, and then shook his head.

"I don't know. It's random and varies from person to person. The Uzumaki Clan Heiress possesses the unique royal bloodline ability, which is both deadly and beautiful. Most people, however, have a bloodline that boosts a certain aspect of their chakra. For some it may be an elemental benefit such as a specialisation in fire." Here he pointed to himself and Naruto clapped happily. "Or it could be other things. For example there is a kunoichi your age who is exceptionally gifted in Yin chakra, so her genjutsu is already reaching Jonin level." Unnoticed by Naruto, there was a slight grimace on his face when he mentioned her.

Naruto gaped, _That's better than Yakumo!_ Needless to say Yakumo was Naruto's idol in terms of genjutsu. To realise that there was a girl more talented than her was an earth shattering revelation.

"For your bloodline I have no clue, but I can guess that it may enhance your chakra density, it does that for all people. You have increased longevity and vitality as per usual, but now you're likely to become more attuned to chakra, which manifests in the form of a chakra sensory ability."

Naruto scratched his head in confusion, "So you're saying I'm a sensory type ninja and I have some cool chakra bloodline thingy?" Ace facepalmed, _This is the future of our clan? What is the world coming to?_

"Yes, I used a fuinjutsu technique to remove the seal placed on your body. Don't get cocky, it's only a seal on bloodlines. So it won't affect your fighting ability at all in terms of chakra reserves or control. Right now its like an extra jutsu you'll have at your disposal." Naruto slumped in disappointment. _That's it? So the bloodline gives me nothing right now?_

"You've reached the 7th floor of the pagoda right?" Naruto nodded, quite proud of his achievement. "Trash." Naruto gaped, "What do you mean trash, that's great progress!"

Ace scoffed, before looking at Naruto with disdain. "The Uzumaki heiress is already at the 16th level, and she is just a year older than you. That's real talent." Ace looked into the distance, lost in thought, before he waved his hand dismissively. "Okay I told you what I need to, I'm going. Try not to end up as a failure. Remember to keep yourself safe, you may not be lucky next time and I won't be there. Don't die."

Naruto's face, which started with depression eventually ended with a death glare. Before he could talk back he was unceremoniously kicked out of his mindscape.

He left whilst screaming at Ace. "I swear I'll get you for that!"

 **4 months later – (Location: Konoha Training Ground 9)**

Over many months, the bright sun had gradually faded with the days getting shorter and shorter. It was 6pm yet already dark, a half moon shining in the darkness. Dark figures moved swiftly, they clashed repeatedly with sounds of metal and grunting.

*CLANG* One of the figures was sent sliding back, he used his kunai to stab the ground and stabilise himself. He eventually stopped in the moonlight, revealing blood red hair and shining violet eyes.

"Lee, you're ruthless. Can't you hold back at least a bit?" Immediately after speaking he widened his eyes, raising his arms to block. *THUMP* A green coloured leg hit him, which caused him to slide back again. He retaliated with a roundhouse kick which, given the grunt of pain, hit its mark.

"That would be completely un-youthful." A flurry of punches and kicks erupted in the clearing, Naruto would sometimes score hits to Lee's torso or arms but Lee would hit Naruto _everywhere._ Including places which Naruto preferred were kept off limits. After a particularly vicious hit to Naruto's face he snapped.

"That does it Lee!" He went through rapid hand seals and breathed in air. As he prepared to release his jutsu the other figure was revealed in the moonlight. Jet black hair styled into a bowl cut, with orange arm and leg warmers as well as a green jumpsuit. The figure widened his black eyes and jumped away.

" **Wind Style: Air Bullets"**

*BOOM* As Naruto exhaled he released spheres of air that smashed into the ground and trees, leaving large head sized holes and many splinters in their wake. 4 out of the 5 bullets were handily dodged by Lee, but the final one could not be dodged so Lee kicked the bullet in mid-air.

"AHH" Lee shouted, falling onto the ground in pain. Naruto walked up to Lee, he had a quick look at Lee's legs just to make sure there were no permanent injuries.

He groaned a bit and glared at Naruto accusingly, "Not fair Naruto. I could have taken off my weights, and then I would have liked to see how you could beat me!" If Naruto was bothered by the threat, he didn't show it. "Sure sure, in the meantime why don't I use my tanto?" He replied smugly, laughing at Lee's irritation.

After having some fun he pulled Lee up and patted his back. Lee, who was previously laughing, looked inquisitively at Naruto.

"Is your team signing up for the chunin exams?"

Naruto gave Lee a searching look, before nodding cautiously. "Yes, we are. Is there a reason why you ask?" Sometimes people tried to sabotage other teams before the exam, in order to lower the competition. That's why it was considered taboo to ask if other teams were participating, but this was mostly in the case of strangers. Naruto had known Lee for the past couple of months and they regularly sparred, so Lee wasn't exactly a stranger. Naruto was still careful though.

Lee hurriedly waved his arms, a big grin on his face. "Don't worry! I will also be participating. Let the power of youth explode!" Naruto watched, eyes twitching, at Lee's 'nice guy' pose. _Why is he such a weirdo?_

"Oh Naruto, make sure to stay careful of the top 3 teams. They'll also be competing in the exams."

 _That_ caught Naruto's attention. "What teams Lee? You mean some teams from your graduation class or older?" He asked. _For once Lee looks serious, which means these guys are probably strong._

"Well, two of them are from our class, and they're strong. It's team 3 and team 5. The last one is actually a team that's a year older than us. They're regarded as the strongest, and to top it all off their sensei used to be an ANBU Captain!"

"ANBU Captain? What on earth...wait you're saying they still haven't been promoted?" Naruto was officially panicking. He had been quite optimistic on his team's chances, but now there were genius teams up to 2 years older than them?

Lee grimaced, an odd expression that rarely appeared on his face. "They could have taken the exams last year, but they purposefully didn't. It's because the chunin exams this year are going to be international with all 5 of the great nations participating. I'm guessing your sensei failed to tell you: The 5 nation chunin exams happen once every 3 years."

"So they bided their time? That's great. And who is in the team?" Lee shrugged, "I don't know, they keep to themselves. It's harder than you think to intermingle in such a big village. They have their own separate training grounds and stuff."

"Right." Naruto replied. Both of them stood in silence, it was a sombre atmosphere.

(Location: Unknown Office, Land of Fire)

"Any sightings of the Akatsuki?"

"None as of yet, when any reports of such a nature come along they will be directly sent to you."

They were in a large office with many candles scattered around, with some maids that were tending to the flowers and cleaning the furniture. At the entrance was a man, kneeling as he reported, who was dressed in a traditional red kimono with 'Fire' written on the back. At the table, which was at the centre of the office, sat a girl. She had long, blonde hair that almost shined in the candlelight. Her blue eyes were tranquil, and as she analysed the report in front of her, she was idly twirling a lock of her hair.

"How annoying." She commented, "They truly are very secretive. What of the other mercenary groups?"

"Well, there are the usual ones of course. There's the _Vixen's Abode_ that has seen quite a lot of activity over the past few months, mostly for escorts and security. The _Great Calamity_ has also seen lots of expansion. They specialise in assassination and tracking missions, and they're unresponsive to our attempts to reach out. In fact the last diplomatic letter came back..."

The hand that was twirling her hair paused, her eyes sharpened as she looked at the man. "came back?" The man gulped nervously, before soldiering on, "in pieces."

If he was expecting an outburst of some kind he was sadly mistaken, there was a simple pause for a few seconds before she spoke.

"We have other means to monitor them, send some missives to the local brothels where _Great Calamity_ operates; some men are bound to have loose tongues. Try to get some of our young academy graduates into _Great Calamity_ , if they work their way up the ranks it'll be great for us. I'll get a couple of Rangers to monitor the more high profile members just in case."

The man nodded in acknowledgement. He hesitated, before softly speaking. "Yes your highness, but if I may be so bold. Why is it necessary to monitor a group that so far has made no moves, even indirectly, against the Daimyo?" He looked inquisitively at the girl, who had smirked at his question.

"Know thy self, know thy enemy. A thousand battles, a thousand victories. Just because they don't seem like an enemy, doesn't mean they aren't one. A great general isn't one who just acts during war, but one that also acts in peacetime. Preparation is king, without any information how can I strategise accurately?" She paused, looking at her side towards a painting of a middle aged man.

"Father does not bother himself personally with such intricacies or tactics, which would have been his downfall with all his stupid generals. Fortunately I'm here to hold the fort." She turned back, standing up as she spoke.

"Any other news?" She patted her kimono, which was royal blue with golden trimmings, and had started to walk towards the exit.

"Actually there is one final matter. You asked about which Konoha team it was that stopped Gato and Kirigakure from taking over Nami no Kuni? We have their names and profiles right here, your highness."

She stopped walking, and looked at the man expectantly. Getting the idea, he unsealed a folder and handed it to her.

"I was actually curious about this." She admitted, leafing through the first few pages. That was the post-battle report, she had already read that. Reaching the team profile she scanned Yugao's page, nodding slightly. "Former ANBU Captain? Not bad. She must have led a team of jounin." However, as soon as she flipped over to the next page she froze. "Sakura Haruno, genin? What is this Ryusuke, did you bring me a false report?" She glared at her servant, who waved his hands in panic.

"No, your highness I swear every word is true. It has been corroborated by our spies in Konoha, there's no mistake." She frowned.

 _It's all true? This girl is 12 years old for God's sake! How on earth did 3 genin take out 4 chunin?_ The girl carefully examined the report; although the details of the battle were sparse it was enough to get a general idea. After a few minutes of general analysis she quickly scanned the remaining genins' profiles. Ryoga's profile was standard, so she didn't pay much attention to it. However when she reached Naruto's profile she paused. _Naruto: 12 years old, graduated 8 months ago, wind style elemental nature, skilled at taijutsu and no skill in genjutsu._ She was about to throw his profile away when something on the page caught her eye. Biting her lip, she thought hard for a few seconds, before deciding.

"Ryusuke, do we still have that shipment of chakra metal from Tetsu no Kuni?" She asked, looking intently at Naruto's picture. Ryusuke opened up his scroll and scanned it for a few seconds, "Yes we do, but it was just about to be transported, it is scheduled to be guarded by general platoon 6."

"Good, I want you to cancel that platoon's guard mission, reassign them somewhere else. Send this guard mission request to Konoha, ensure team 11 receives it. We still have some of our men at Konoha Missions office, right?" Even now, she didn't tear her gaze away from Naruto's picture. Ryusuke nodded and replied in the affirmative. "I'll make sure to do it, anything else?"

"One final thing, when team 11 arrives I want to meet them." Her hands traced Naruto's picture. "Something tells me that I may have found an interesting egg, perhaps even champion material. I'll need to do a bit of digging first."

Ryusuke gaped at her in shock, especially after her last statement, but was able to quickly mask his emotions. He bowed towards the girl.

"Long live Princess Miho!"

As he left, he didn't notice Miho raise her hand and casually burn the other pieces of paper on the table. Only one piece of paper remained, which contained the grinning face of a red-haired ninja.

(Location: Unknown Konoha training field)

"You've gotten rusty, Yugao. If this is what happens after becoming a sensei, I'm happy I decided not to be one." A man parried a strike towards his legs, and replied by stabbing towards Yugao's head.

"Shut up, I can still kick your ass." She ducked and kicked his sword up, lightly cutting Hayate's chest. "You're still too impatient, Hayate."

He looked down at the cut, and raised his hands in defeat. They both smiled at each other, and after they sheathed their swords, found themselves in a tight embrace. "I've missed you." Yugao whispered, Hayate tightened his grip in response.

"How are your genin?" Hayate sat down in front of a tree, Yugao curled up into his arms. "They're good, great actually. Especially Naruto, his kenjutsu and wind chakra have truly come along. They all deserve to be promoted."

"Not in this chunin exam, I'm sure you've heard about the other teams?" She frowned, shifting slightly in discomfort. Hayate, perhaps noticing her uneasiness, rushed to explain. "Yugao, I don't doubt you, but the other teams are full of clan heirs. The amount of talent in those teams is ridiculous, especially Itachi's team. An Uchiha, Hyuga and Senju are nothing to scoff at. Not to mention Tsunade of the Sann-"

"ENOUGH! I know Hayate, you don't need to remind me. Besides, you know that I have no choice." She grimaced, it's not that she didn't have faith in her team, she had seen their growth firsthand. Only, the competition was really tough in Konoha, not to mention the other 4 villages!

"If you win, will the commander really allow you back into the ANBU?" Hayate spoke very softly, afraid to hurt Yugao with his words. True to his suspicions she flinched, and looked down solemnly. "He won't take back his words. At least I don't think he will."

Hayate said nothing. _You might say that, but your face doesn't. He'll take his words back, won't he? Then why can't you just honestly tell me?_

"CAW CAW" An eagle sounded from above them. "A mission request that isn't D rank, for our team?" Yugao asked, very bewildered at the sight. Hayate was also shocked, "Weren't you guys suspended from any missions above D-rank for 6 months? Wasn't that to punish you for your mission to Nami no Kuni?" Yugao nodded absentmindedly, "I should go find Naruto, Ryoga and Sakura. Raincheck?"

Hayate groaned in annoyance. "We don't get time together Yugao!" He whined, eliciting a smile from her. She kissed his cheek, "Absence makes the heart grow fonder. Make sure to think of me every day." She vanished in a shunshin, leaving Hayate alone in the forest.

There was a warm smile on his face.

 _Always._

(1 week later - Location: Holy Fire City)

'The City of Dreams.' A name that aptly described such a technological marvel, a city that no-one had ever seen the likes of in the Land of Fire. It wasn't like Konoha, at least in terms of land or space. In fact it was less than half of Konoha's size. What made its prestige comparable to Konoha was its degree of development. Buildings were on average 4 to 5 floors in height, compared to Konoha's meagre 1 or 2. Most jarring, perhaps, was the building at the centre, which towered above the rest. At least 5 times the size of a normal building, it was extremely intimidating to any newcomers.

Or at least, it was to Naruto as he entered Holy Fire City alongside Sakura, Ryoga and Yugao.

"Whoa, the buildings are so tall. This place is even cooler than Konoha!" Naruto exclaimed, excitement evident in his tone. Ryoga, who looked quite stunned, nodded dumbly.

"You guys haven't been here before? My dad brought me here a couple of years ago, the most amazing thing about this place isn't the buildings, it's the streets!" Sakura, who suddenly started to look like a know-it-all, began listing all the different shops and restaurants she had visited the last time she was here. If she thought that she would get any attention, she was sadly mistaken.

"What is our mission sensei?" Ryoga asked, cutting off Sakura's diatribe. Yugao glanced at Sakura, who had turned sullen, and then spoke.

"Our job is to guard a shipment of chakra metal as it is transported back to Konoha. I don't know why we were given this, since the Fire Palace troops normally handle these kinds of missions. We're supposed to meet up with a man named Ryusuke, who is the princess's secretary. He handles all of her business affairs. We should meet him right there." She pointed towards the huge building in the centre.

"Wait, this is requested by the princess? WOW, do we get to meet her?" Sakura squealed, and Naruto and Ryoga rubbed their ears in irritation. Yugao raised an eyebrow at her.

"You think we'll meet the princess for a mission this trivial? Don't be silly, there's no way we'll meet the princess today."

======== 15 minutes later ========

"Thank you for taking this mission, Konohagakure. The princess wishes to meet you, if possible." Ryusuke said, bowing towards Team 11, who had frozen up in complete shock. Yugao was the first to recover, she glared at Sakura as if to blame her for the meeting, then nodded and smiled amiably at Ryusuke.

"Of course, we would be honoured to meet her highness. May I enquire as to the reason?"

"It is regarding a small hiccup in the mission you are taking. Please don't be alarmed as it is a minor issue." Yugao replied in the affirmative, but inside she was quite confused. _What kind of mistake would be made for a simple C rank mission, especially by the princess?_ As an ANBU Yugao knew a lot about the Land of Fire from a political perspective, so she knew a little bit about the princess and her brilliance. _Well, let's find out what she wants._

(Location: Princess Miho's Office, Holy Fire City)

Team 11 followed Ryusuke up 10 floors of the centre building, called Fire Palace, before reaching a set of grand doors with a Dragon shaped doorknob. Ryusuke lightly knocked on the door, announcing his arrival alongside Team 11.

"Come in." Naruto heard a gentle voice behind the door, which caught him and the others by surprise. _She sounds young._

The doors opened, and before Naruto could even move his mind shut down. In front of them stood a girl with long blonde hair, wearing a blue jūnihitoe. Unlike a normal jūnihitoe it had fewer layers of robes, 5 to be exact, and none of them touched the ground which was strange. Her slender fingers were holding onto a ceremonial fan, as was custom, but she had tied her hair into a messy ponytail, forgoing any elaborate hair style. Perhaps most surprising was her age, as she looked like a teenager!

Sakura recovered quite quickly, nudging Ryoga awake. Naruto simply stood there like a statue, eyes bulging and mouth gaping, thinking only one thing. _Absolutely gorgeous._ He would probably have been there for longer, had Yugao not stepped on his toes. "Oww." He yelped, though after seeing Yugao's death glare he quickly shut up.

"Welcome, friends of Konoha." _She sounds like an angel,_ Naruto thought dreamily. "I would like to extend my condolences for this mishap, but it appears the shipment you were assigned to guard is still not ready for transportation. Fortunately it will be ready in a few days, so why don't you stay here in the meantime?"

Yugao immediately protested, "Please, your highness doesn't need to apologise for such a small issue. We wouldn't want to impose, so we are perfectly fine with a hotel nearby. Why don't – "

"Nonsense!" She was interrupted by Princess Miho, "We are close allies, there is no such thing as 'imposing'." She waved her hand dismissively. "I have 3 rooms prepared. One for you and your student", she said pointing at Sakura, "The other 2 are single rooms, for your other students." Yugao still looked hesitant, but there wasn't much of a choice. She bowed towards the princess and walked out with her team, almost dragging a shell-shocked Naruto along.

==== 2 days later ====

Their time in the city was quite enjoyable with all the sightseeing and eating, though Sakura's long shopping sprees left the boys drained. Curiously Naruto and Ryoga's rooms were on separate floors, whilst Yugao and Sakura shared the same room. If Yugao was bothered by this, she didn't show it.

It was the last night before the shipment was ready and Naruto was just about to go to bed when there was a knock on his door. He paused, looking quizzically at the door, then shrugging and opening it. He almost got a heart attack when he saw who it was.

"Uh, p-p-p-princess Mi-Miho, um... what brings you h-here today?" He was a stuttering wreck, although this time he couldn't really be blamed. Miho was dressed in a normal kimono, dark red in colour, with her hair down. Her blue eyes drilled into him incessantly, as if to dissect every bit of his body.

"Ah, Naruto isn't it? Um, I was wondering, I have this strange habit of walking the streets just before sleeping. In fact I was just about to leave, but I saw your light still on." She leaned on the door frame and got slightly closer to him, he could smell cinnamon and slight hints of citrus. "Did you want to tag along? I promise I'm a good guide." She giggled lightly, which Naruto found adorable. Naruto didn't really remember what he mumbled to her, but 5 minutes later they were walking side by side in the darkness.

It was a bit of a strange sight, since she was a few inches taller than him and sometimes he had to look up to her when they were talking. Miho was a great conversationalist, not unexpected since she was a princess, and Naruto found himself opening up to her. They talked about all kinds of things, from her awkward court moments to his addiction to ramen.

"You graduated 8 months ago, right?" It was the first time she had asked about his shinobi life, which caught him by surprise.

"Uh, yeah. Just a couple weeks over actually! Wow, time really flies." Miho nodded, "I turned 15 a month ago. Father had a grand banquet to celebrate. It was nice; when you get older there are always new things that are exciting, but also some things you hate." _Like suitors._

"True. I'm not really sure where my future will take me. Especially with the –" He paused, unsure on how to explain the politics in Konoha and the upcoming chunin exams.

"Chunin exams?" She enquired, an unreadable expression on her face. After a slight bit of hesitation, Naruto nodded. "Yeah, the competition is quite tough this year. In fact there are a couple of teams that skipped a year or two just to come to this one." She hummed in reply.

"In all honesty, it'll be hard for you to progress in Konoha, even if you do well in the exams."

"Huh, what do you mean?" Naruto was shocked. _Is she looking down on me?_ Suddenly his opinion of her fell.

"What I meant, is the clan politics. You're not from a clan, all the people in power are from clans. So it's impossible for you to rise up unless you're ridiculously talented, and even if you _are_ talented who's going to train you? Of course it's a pity you're in Konoha, if you had joined the Dragon Palace..." She trailed off, looking quite disheartened. Her expression was tugging at Naruto's heartstrings, but her words quickly caught his attention.

"Dragon Palace? What's that, and what do you mean 'part of it'." Sensing an opportunity Naruto pounced, not noticing Miho's sly grin.

"Well... It's an organisation headed by the 12 guardian ninja, created as a militia under the direct command of the Dragon General, the highest ranked general in the Land of Fire, absolutely loyal to the Daimyo. Like Konoha, it runs many missions for all kinds of clients, from poor to rich, but unlike Konoha there are no dynasties or clans, meaning any person from a rich or poor background with great potential is accepted. It's not a complete meritocracy, political interests are still present, but it's better than Konoha at least. In fact, every three years the peak nobility of the Land of Fire will each choose a 'champion' from the Dragon Palace and compete in a grand tournament, overseen by the Daimyo himself. The tournament is in two years time. Since I'll have turned 16 by then I will also be taking part, only I have yet to find someone."

Naruto, who had been listening carefully to Miho for the past few minutes, almost crashed into her as she stopped. He was about to ask why she stopped, when she turned around with a serious look on her face.

"I'll be honest Naruto, I brought you here because I want to test you. To see if you're strong enough to be my 'champion'. I could have picked anyone out of the Dragon palace; I'm the princess after all." She flipped her hair arrogantly, "However by now most of the nobles have chosen their champions and there are no amazing candidates in the palace itself. So I've been more lateral with my searching. This isn't the actual test; in fact it's just a preliminary." What had started as a confident explanation slowly became more hesitant. She paused for a few seconds, giving him a significant look, before continuing.

"I can promise that if you qualify as my champion, I'll do my very best to ensure you progress to higher ranks in the future. You're the first person I've asked, so...do you accept?" After saying her bit she looked away, a slight blush on her face, Naruto was too shocked to notice.

"Yes, of course!" He blurted out, inwardly cringing at his loud response. It was only a few seconds later when his mind rebooted, did he realise, it wasn't going to be that simple! He couldn't just 'join' the Dragon Palace and leave Konoha. Perhaps Miho noticed this, because she hurried to say "If you get my offer you'll have a few months to carefully consider, just in case." There was a slight pause, both of them staring at each other, before they blushed and looked away.

Miho cleared her throat. "COME OUT AIZEN!"

A brown haired boy with a sword appeared in front of them. He was wearing rectangular spectacles with a smile on his face. Miho looked at Naruto, "You'll fight him. If you do well then depending on how you do in the chunin exams you'll pass."

Naruto looked at Aizen for a second, and then nodded in acknowledgement. Getting the message, Miho moved back to give them some space. Both tensed in preparation.

"Begin!"

Aizen jumped back, hands moving rapidly to form multiple hand seals. Just when he was about to finish Naruto appeared in front of him.

" **Iai Beheading"**

Naruto's tanto was in the middle of a big arc as it rushed towards Aizen's throat. The blade was glowing with wind chakra, and when it cut through Aizen blood spurted out of his body. Naruto narrowed his eyes, _Can't be that easy._ Sure enough his body turned hazy and disappeared.

"Kai" Naruto formed the release seal, simultaneously ducking as a sword stabbed towards his abdomen. Aizen, who was revealed to be behind Naruto, widened his eyes in surprise. _How did he know where I was?_ Nevertheless he continued the attack, slashing at Naruto's legs. Naruto blocked it with his sword, then counterattacked with a round house kick, which was blocked by Aizen's arm. The close combat was quick and deadly, with both Naruto and Aizen scoring equal hits on each other. As they moved back Naruto's face revealed a small cut, Aizen's neck also had a cut. They paused, breathing heavily, before Naruto moved.

He sped through many hand seals, eventually ending with the Bird hand seal.

" **Wind Style: Dust Cloud Jutsu"**

Naruto exhaled a large cloud of dust enveloping the entire clearing, including Naruto and Aizen, in dust. Aizen coughed lightly, his hands hidden from view, when a sword stabbed through his leg.

"ARRRGHH. What the hell!" He shouted, swinging his sword blindly in the dust. A few metres behind him stood Naruto, who had his eyes closed and yet knew exactly where Aizen was. _Don't mess with a Sensory type ninja!_ He gloated, and then stabbed his sword through Aizen's other leg.

*THUD* Aizen's knees hit the ground as he let out another scream in pain. Naruto was quite surprised that Miho had not stopped the fight, and was just about to end the fight when suddenly he felt a great danger from behind him. He formed a hand sign and jumped straight up into the air.

"Kai. Kai. Kai. KAI!" After many tries he saw the dust cloud below change, it moved a few metres from its original position. Aizen was standing outside the dust cloud, completely unharmed! _Another genjutsu!_ Naruto was kicking himself in frustration, _How didn't I notice, for God's sake!_ Fortunately he had been inside the dust cloud, which had kept him safe until he realised.

"Okay, I've had enough. Let's end this!" He smirked, pressing tightly onto a point on his right forearm. "Resistance seals, release!" Black marks appeared all over his body, they flashed blue a couple of times, before disappearing back into his body. Now he felt three times lighter! _First time I've removed the seals in a while. Let's test them out!_ He didn't need to look far, as Naruto landed on the ground Aizen had already released another genjutsu, and Naruto saw a massive fireball from above.

" **Demonic Illusion: Descending Flame Jutsu"**

"Kai! Kai. Kai. Kai. Oh, there we go!" _Why is it so damn difficult to get rid of them?_ Naruto didn't pay much attention to it; he was too engrossed in his improved speed as he raced towards Aizen.

" **Iaido: Lion's Song"**

He sheathed his sword, seeing Aizen's chest spurt blood as he fell. He pumped his fists in excitement. "YES, I RULE!"

However, just when he was going to look for Miho he felt someone hit his head from behind. His vision turned blurry, and before he lost consciousness he saw a smiling brown haired boy.

"Better luck next time!"

(30 minutes later – Location: Naruto's room, Fire Palace)

It was still dark outside. Naruto's room had a few scented candles, the room smelling of cinnamon and citrus. He was sleeping quite contently when a hand on his shoulder gently shook him awake.

"Uhhh." He groaned. As he got up he rubbed the back of his head, grimacing in pain. Noticing his surroundings he tried to remember everything, "What happened?"

"You lost." A soft voice sounded from behind him. He turned around, only to see a stern Miho wearing the same kimono from before. He looked down in shame. "Sorry, I was careless. I didn't think he'd layer another genjutsu on top of the fireball one."

There was no reply, simply silence. This continued for a couple of minutes until Naruto couldn't stand it anymore. "Does this mean you're going to find someone else?"

"Do you want me to?" A hint of accusation was in her voice. Naruto shook his head. "Of course not, but I lost didn't I?"

She scoffed. "Did I ever say you _had_ to win?" Naruto looked at her in shock, _Wait a second, does this mean...?_

"You just about pass, I guess." "YESSS!" Naruto whooped in joy, Miho looked a bit irritated by his volume, though she had a small smile on her face.

"LISTEN TO ME IDIOT!" Naruto quickly stopped screaming, looking like a kicked puppy. _He's so cute!_ Her traitorous heart was gushing, but in the end her rational mind took over. "I picked Aizen _because_ of his genjutsu prowess. I knew that it was your weakness from the beginning. This is to give you a lesson: Never be overconfident in your abilities. I saw you when you released those weird seals on your body, you didn't even pay attention to what Aizen was doing. Granted, you were really quick and your speed is incredible, but you still had weaknesses which Aizen easily exploited. That was the most disappointing part."

Pausing her tirade, she saw that despite his sadness, Naruto still gave her his full attention and respect. Sighing in relief, as she didn't want a stupid champion, she continued "For the chunin exams, try to improve your genjutsu, and improve your brain. If ignorant both of your enemy and yourself, you are certain to be in peril. Learn to strategise, otherwise you'll never become a chunin, let alone a jounin."

"I will, I promise!" Naruto said solemnly. Miho smiled, nodding in happiness. "Before you go, come with me for a second. I'll give you a few books on strategy and tactics. I also have some information on important clans in the Elemental Nations. If you can get to the final stage of the chunin exams, you'll be my champion! I'm sure this is the beginning of a great partnership!"

(Location: Mindscape)

"He didn't even reveal any of his fuinjutsu, and she's that impressed?"

"Well, Naruto is quite talented at Kenjutsu and Ninjutsu."

A giant black pagoda with golden patterns floated in the sky. Perched atop the 99th floor of the pagoda was a multicoloured parrot. Next to it sat a man with multicoloured hair wearing a red kimono.

"Still," spoke the man, "he's reached the 12th floor of the pagoda. Once he learns how to create barriers he'll be even stronger."

The parrot hummed in agreement. It looked towards the man, "Why did you lie to him? About his bloodline?"

The man, who had been playing with fire, stopped. Gazing into the distance, he replied "Hubris was the downfall of our clan. I won't let it happen again, especially given our current circumstances. This pagoda is essential, if he relies on his natural talents and doesn't work hard: He'll never become the warrior Uzushiogakure needs him to be."

"Is that why you keep him away from the village? Why you lied to him about your guard job?" the man glanced at the parrot in surprise. "Don't be shocked, I know that you've used a Level 90 sealing imprint, otherwise how can your form be corporeal in his mindscape?"

He let out some laughter. "I forget about your position sometimes, only when you reveal your knowledge do I remember again." The parrot let out an indignant squawk. "Humph, so much disrespect from my descendants, its complete blasphemy." They shared a light chuckle, after which the man sobered.

"Naruto's safety is of paramount importance, there's already a split in the clan. The heiress can only hold out for so long, I didn't think the Genjutsu master would become so stubborn and rebellious. To think the Earth master and the Taijutsu Master would support her and her apprentice so strongly." The parrot gave him a sharp look.

"You know the solution, find _them._ "

"Find who?" He looked confused for a few seconds, before jumping in shock. "No way! We haven't spoken to them in centuries. God knows if they still even remember our alliance. To have the clan bow our heads to them, have you lost your mind?" The Fire Master had become frantic, and was going to continue when the parrot hit him on his head.

"Idiot! Not every problem is solved directly, use your brain for once! There are other ways of getting their friendship. For example – " the parrot looked towards a picture of a sleeping Naruto.

The Fire Master quickly caught on. "Wait you can't possibly mean him? How will that work?"

The parrot waved his arms, "Don't think, you knucklehead, just listen! Now, here's what we're going to do..."

 **A/N: Phew! When the MC is powerful but still gets owned. It's no fun if he wins all the time! If you thought Miho contacting Naruto like this was really random, trust me when I say it wasn't. Her thought process and personality are a lot more complex than they look. For any scepticism over my take on Konoha politics you only need to observe real life to realise how likely it is. The clans have both money and influence, you're telling me they won't abuse it to get their own members into powerful positions?**

 **Aren't you guys excited about the other teams? Well, next chapter is where the ball gets rolling and the chunin exams loom ever so closer. Who knows, they might even start next chapter...**


End file.
